Return to Sport with Bill Kerig

USA Hockey Executive Director Pat Kelleher is one of the most highly respected leaders in sport. He's been a player, a coach and is a sport parent. He knows right now that playing sport is beneficial. But how do you do it safely? Quick to act, Kelleher joined forces with US Figure Skating and the Ice Rink Association to develop a return to sport plan. It's a little different playing hockey today. But it's working.

John O’Sullivan is one of the nation’s most revered youth sports gurus. So how did he bring his own team back safely to sport? Return to Sport host Bill Kerig gets O’Sullivan to open up about the evolution of a safe protocol and the tools he used to implement it for his soccer teams. He talks about organization, communication and expectations, as well as the role technology like Great Coach’s Clear2Play can serve as a compliance tool to help youth sports organizations with what seems to be a daunting task..

Dr. Jon Finnoff has been around elite athletes for 20 years. Finnoff is the new medical director for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, where health and wellness are a vital part of supporting America’s athletes. This spring, he was on the front line of managing pandemic safety at the USOPC’s training centers. Now he has a focus on athletes returning to sport, having just released USOPC Return to Training Considerations - available to any youth sports organization at GreatCoach.com. Host Bill Kerig explores the real dangers of COVID-19 with Dr. Finnoff, who offers his recommendations on getting back to sport. What steps should youth sports organizations take? What health signs should they watch for? How can apps, like Great Coach’s Clear2Play help. Dr. Finnoff offers wise counsel in a time that youth sports organizations need it most.

Theresa Sherry is one of lacrosse's most noted stars, a former Team USA player with four Ivy League championships and two NCAA titles while playing for Princeton. She went on to coach at the University of California before starting The Tenacity Project, designed to empower young girls through sport. Theresa talks with Bill Kerig about the challenges of returning to sport in the coronavirus pandemic era.

Health and wellness benefits are at the baseline of youth sport. Sport leader Luke Bodensteiner has been engaged in every level of sport. He’s an NCAA All American, two-time Olympian, and architect of one of the most successful U.S. Olympic sport teams. Today he oversees sport across the state of Utah as Chief of Sport for the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation. Bodensteiner speaks about how sport participation is good for kids on many dimensions - it develops character, it aids in school. In his engaging talk with Return to Sport host Bill Kerig, he outlines concepts for a return to sport and how youth sport might look differently down the road, but still providing benefits to kids and families.

All over the world there are playing fields that are filled only with memories. They are fields where bonds were formed. We come not just to break a sweat, but to break through. It's important we take back these fields of play - with a purpose and a plan? But what is that plan? What are the rules and who are the umpires? What's the right batting order? None of us know for sure. But I do know one thing for sure. I know that if we work together, we can figure this out. My name is Bill Kerig, host of the new Return to Sport podcast. We're going to bring together the best, the brightest, the boldest in youth and amateur sport. We're going to talk about specifics of how we get our kids back to the fields of play. Watch for episodes coming up that will help you return to sport safely.