There may be no Little League World Series this year, but there is still a chance of playing Little League baseball this summer.
The Little League national association recently released a series of guidelines and protocol districts and leagues can use to help get players back on the field for baseball this summer. For District 52, which encompasses Little Leagues in San Mateo County and Palo Alto, the news is welcomed.
“We’ve been canvassed (by Little League). All the district in Northern California. They asked are we, if the governor and health authorities give us a release, are we willing and able to play ball,” said Tom Dolan, District 52 president. “The answer in District 52 is a resounding yes.”
When the shelter-in-place orders came down in mid-March, the 14 leagues in District 52 had either started their regular season or were on the verge of doing so. Most simply suspended play, with the hope that practices and games would be given the go-ahead later in the summer.
“The league presidents meet on quite a regular basis,” said San Mateo National president Adam Jacobs. “For the most part, we’re on the same page (in wanting to get something done). Everyone is trying to stay patient.
“[San Mateo National] has not canceled anything.”
In fact, there are some leagues that have already come back online. Lafayette Little League in the East Bay resumed modified practice this past Monday. According to the league’s website, safety protocol was a collaborative effort between the league, the city of Lafayette, and the Lafayette School District.
“I think the majority of District 52 wants to do anything we can, within safety guidelines of the county, to get kids back on the field. Whether it’s just practices, scrimmages or games, the kids need to get back to a little bit of normalcy,” Jacobs said.
Assuming San Mateo County health officials approve the resumption of youth sports with social distancing requirements, Dolan said it will be up to each league to decide how it wants to proceed. It could simply be practices and scrimmages, all the way up to playing a District 52 all-star tournament.
“It will be left up to individual leagues,” Dolan said. “If Hillsborough, for instance, wants to play just a season locally to maximize games for all the kids, we can’t (as a district) compel them to do otherwise,” Dolan said. “If they want to get back and have a competitive league for six weeks, eight weeks, then have a league championship and a district championship, we’re all for that.”
Hillsborough Little League president Eric Ranta believes, however, there is still a lot of work to do to get back playing ball again. It may take some convincing of county health officials that youth team sports are willing and able to get back on the field in whatever modified version is necessary.
“The restriction right now is, anything that has shared equipment was a non-starter. … (But) I don’t think we have given up hope that there will be some sort of activity. I think a majority of parents would appreciate that,” Ranta said. “But it’s really about how, if given the opportunity, how would you come back? First thing you can do is practices. Ten to 11 kids and a couple of coaches. You can manage that. That’s more likely or achievable.
“But to play a Little League game? The logistics around that become a significantly bigger dimension.”
The San Mateo Youth Softball Association won’t have such a dilemma. SMYSA president Vince DeFriese said their regular season, which runs from March to April, was canceled roughly two weeks ago and the prospects of sending tournament teams to competitive tournaments is slim.
But that doesn’t mean SMYSA doesn’t have plans to get back on the field in some capacity.
“Us die-hard board of directors … we’re all ready to take kids and head back out to the field,” DeFriese said. “We hope to have some kind of pick-up ball in the summer months. … A free program to get kids out of the house.”
Ultimately, youth sports leaders are not looking to crown champions. They simply want players to get back to some sort of normalcy and take advantage of the mental health benefits sports can offer — even in a limited capacity.
“From a purely pragmatic view, getting kids out practicing (at the very least) would be a huge step. Our constituency, they would like nothing more than to be out there,” Ranta said. “Partially for the exercise, but the other fact is, this (pandemic) has been a shock for a lot of kids. … The feedback I get is [playing again is] as much for mental as it is for the physical,” Ranta said. “I think Little League around here is a real connection with the community.”
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May 22, 2020 at 06:45PM
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