Sunday, August 23rd— It’s with a heavy heart that we announce all KidsPlay programs will be shut down this fall and winter. Weather and Covid-19 permitting, we hope to see you back with us in April 2021 for NFL Flag Football, Outdoor Soccer and T-Ball programs. This is probably a good space to answer four common questions we’ve been asked over the past several months 1) Are You Guys OK? Our sense is that what people really mean when they ask us this question is, “Is Covid-19 going to force KidsPlay to go out of business?”. Barring some additional unforeseen crisis, there is a 0.00% chance that the pandemic will force us to shut down permanently. We will see you again as soon as it is safe to restart programs. 2) Why Are You Shutting Down? The decision is largely out of our hands. Almost all of our school district partners have decided to prohibit use of their facilities by “outside” populations in order to reduce the risk of Covid-19 exposure to their students. Only one of our district partners invited us to run KidsPlay programs with updated health restrictions/procedures this fall, and we respectfully declined. 3) Why Is the XYZ Youth Sports League Still Running? We can’t speak to the judgement and priorities of other youth sports organization. We can only say that after spending the summer talking to dozens of teachers, administrators, parents, physicians, coaches, and Health Department staff, we firmly believe this shutdown serves the best interests of KidsPlay players and their families. 4) Can You Do Virtual KidsPlay? We’re fully capable of running virtual sessions but all things considered, going virtual isn’t a good fit for us. A huge part of KidsPlay is the human connection young players have with their coaches and teammates. Charging parents a fee for a program that doesn’t contain that human connection just seems… wrong. Though we will be in “shutdown mode” for the next several months, we promise to stay in touch— prizes are already being gathered for our annual Holiday Contest later this year. If you have questions or concerns of any kind, don’t hesitate to call/text us at 716.480.2374 or email kidsplay@me.com. We love you, we’ll miss you, and we hope to see you very soon! Tricia, Tim, and KidsPlay Coaches
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