Spring 2020, Covid-19 took everyone by surprise. No one could have guessed that the entire province would be shut down for 3 months. Covid-19 affected everyone. At the academy, we were almost immediately cancelling practice sessions with uncertainty going forward. Covid didn’t stop us from delivering the best we could to our players. After settling in to this new quarantined life, the coaching and management staff were finding all the ways they could to communicate with players. From online sessions, to watching games for homework, everyone was doing their best to provide a way to keep everyone close and soccer orientated.

Once we got the go ahead for socially distanced practices, the proper procedures were being planned to keep everyone safe and healthy. Force academy was following all of the Ontario mandated guidelines. This meant coaches had to work hard to design practices with six feet social distancing in mind. We had an effective check in station where everyone entering the fields was questioned, signed in, and sanitized. It was certainly a much different approach to practices, but thanks to the parents, coaches, players, and Force community and their commitment to safety, things were going smoothly.

Even though there are less restrictions with practices now, Force academy’s number one priority is the safety and health of everyone in the community. This means we’re still checking temperatures, sanitizing and social distancing where we can. We’re working hard to get our players back into games and we’re trying to do with the least amount of risk. There’s a lot of uncertainty going forward, but as an academy, we’re committed to doing everything we can to provide the best services possible in the safest way possible.