Red Dot
Junior Team Member
Posts: 26
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Post by Red Dot on Apr 13, 2020 16:09:34 GMT -5
With UTM unfortunately having to cancel the Early Bird tournament and with the looming further extension of the provincial state of emergency for a further 28 days, where do the remaining organizations that had May and June tournaments scheduled stand? Many municipalities have pulled all facility and field permits until July 3 so teams will not even be able to practice together.
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Post by bucketdad on Apr 13, 2020 18:12:56 GMT -5
As of now the province announced a plan to extended the state of emergency until May 12th. We have been in regular communication with the teams registered in the Queen of the Diamonds event. As of now our municipalities for this event have not extended beyond the provincial dates. I see no value to prematurely canceling events until the province, health authorities or governing bodies (PWSA, Softball Canada) tell us we can't proceed. It is likely we will end up having to postpone or cancel but haven't done so yet.
With respect to the "no practice" argument, I've heard this a couple times. This one makes me shake my head, there is zero reason we should come out of this shelter in place not ready to play. There are endless resources available online for coaches and players to follow to train on their own at home. I fully expect the first day we are allowed to play a game to have one on the schedule. Our timing might be off a little but the teams I'm working with are training hard 5-6 a week right now. They are likely in better shape than they would have been without the shutdown. I think this is true of a lot of teams.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2020 19:46:09 GMT -5
As of now the province announced a plan to extended the state of emergency until May 12th. We have been in regular communication with the teams registered in the Queen of the Diamonds event. As of now our municipalities for this event have not extended beyond the provincial dates. I see no value to prematurely canceling events until the province, health authorities or governing bodies (PWSA, Softball Canada) tell us we can't proceed. It is likely we will end up having to postpone or cancel but haven't done so yet.
With respect to the "no practice" argument, I've heard this a couple times. This one makes me shake my head, there is zero reason we should come out of this shelter in place not ready to play. There are endless resources available online for coaches and players to follow to train on their own at home. I fully expect the first day we are allowed to play a game to have one on the schedule. Our timing might be off a little but the teams I'm working with are training hard 5-6 a week right now. They are likely in better shape than they would have been without the shutdown. I think this is true of a lot of teams. It’s going to be tough to host anything until at least July, since a lot of the GTA has closed their diamonds until July 3rd. If those teams can’t get outside, probably won’t be going to any tourneys. You have to understand, not everybody lives in houses with big yards. In the last 2 weeks, we’ve been kicked off 4 diamonds/open fields from bylaw. It’s one thing to do fitness and throw a ball off a wall inside, but you can’t go from that straight into playing tier 1 ball. My opinion anyway. Stay safe |
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Post by balldad74 on Apr 13, 2020 20:44:30 GMT -5
@ Bucketdad....who are those teams (for those of us who don't know you) and what are those teams you work with doing 5-6 times per week. My kid does her best at home in our basement (where we have a low ceiling limiting pretty much any activity) and in the street (since our bathroom has more space in than our yard). Thanks
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Post by bucketdad on Apr 13, 2020 20:48:40 GMT -5
The one thing to consider Justafan1 is that we are all in the same boat. We will all have a little rust coming out of this but if the players are working out and in shape physically then I don't see an issue playing as soon as we are allowed. If we can't play till July and we have girls heading back to school the end of August then there really won't be time to spend a few weeks practicing first.
For sure there are some that are going to find it harder to find suitable space but there are all sorts of folks being really generous with sharing creative training ideas suitable for small space.. Matt Lisle, The Packaged Deal, Duke Baxter, Softball University etc all have posted quite a bit of stuff. Happy to share some of ours if you want to shoot me a DM.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2020 21:23:59 GMT -5
The one thing to consider Justafan1 is that we are all in the same boat. We will all have a little rust coming out of this but if the players are working out and in shape physically then I don't see an issue playing as soon as we are allowed. If we can't play till July and we have girls heading back to school the end of August then there really won't be time to spend a few weeks practicing first.
For sure there are some that are going to find it harder to find suitable space but there are all sorts of folks being really generous with sharing creative training ideas suitable for small space.. Matt Lisle, The Packaged Deal, Duke Baxter, Softball University etc all have posted quite a bit of stuff. Happy to share some of ours if you want to shoot me a DM. Just replying to the topic of tournaments in May and June. Just saying, I can’t see anything happening until at least July, unfortunately. I appreciate the resources, I’ll look them up. |
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Post by bucketdad on Apr 13, 2020 21:24:02 GMT -5
@ Bucketdad....who are those teams (for those of us who don't know you) and what are those teams you work with doing 5-6 times per week. My kid does her best at home in our basement (where we have a low ceiling limiting pretty much any activity) and in the street (since our bathroom has more space in than our yard). Thanks Hey balldad74 definitely trying to encourage not discourage folks but would push people to try and be a bit creative. I've sent you a DM and happy to share some of what we have been doing. One of the things we found worked really well with my team, Brantford Warriors U19, was that we have a team group chat and we post a new weekly workout list Sunday night and then the girls all report back in as they compete the assignments. It's a good way for some competition to motivate each other but also has kept the girl very close through this period. We've been very fortunate to work closely with Erin Forman from Rising Stars who coaches our U16 Bobcats team and we've been collaborating on a lot of different things. They are pretty good at posting training on their O16 Bobcats Instagram page. We did sign up for the Package Deal Softball school and its been a good source of ideas. I'm sure there are lots of other programs doing similar things to keep the players engaged. This is a new experience for all of us so maybe we should be starting a new thread to share some training ideas as it sounds like some are finding it more of a struggle. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2020 10:32:05 GMT -5
Maybe the better way to discuss this kind of topic is by playing a hypothetical scenario. Let me be clear, I want all sports to be back ASAP.
Let’s say, hypothetically, softball Ontario says we are aloud to resume activity June 1st (probably not realistic, but just using that as a date). These are cities that have already made an early call on diamonds and permits. I’m pasting this from another thread:
Burlington closed till the end June
Guelph closed until July 5
Oshawa - Diamond permits are cancelled until May 31. Tournaments are cancelled up to and including July 1
Mississauga till July 3
Oakville end May
Milton end May
Toronto end June
Brampton till further notice (will probably follow Mississauga's lead)
Oshawa - Diamond permits are cancelled until May 31. Tournaments are cancelled up to and including July 1.
Mississauga till July 3
Oakville end May
Milton end May
Toronto end June
Brampton till further notice (will probably follow Mississauga's lead)
My question is, would those teams who still can’t get outside until July, be willing to drive an hour or 2 away to get practice time/game time until their city opens things up? Would that go into softball Ontario’s decision making (along with the health risks of course)? Would it be fair for cities like Kitchener/Waterloo or London, who hasn’t made any long term decisions it seems, to get outside June 1st, while other cities may have to wait another month at least to get outside if they aren’t willing to make that drive?
Again, it’s all hypothetical. These dates aren’t set in stone, just where we are at today.
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Coach33
Junior Team Member
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Post by Coach33 on Apr 14, 2020 10:49:14 GMT -5
FYI - Kitchener and Waterloo both closed until June 30
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Post by ballparent on Apr 14, 2020 14:15:46 GMT -5
Reality is the season, specifically tournaments, is not happening. Does anyone think there is any chance they will allow a tournament with 10 teams (say 200 people with players and one parent each) to gather at a field in July or even August? With over 40 deaths in Ontario in the last 24 hours, there is almost zero chance of any summer games.
We should focus on trying to find some fun games, once we are allowed, in September/October to keep girls wanting to play. The thought of back to back off seasons will drive a bunch of kids away from the game.
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Post by granddaddygus on Apr 14, 2020 15:11:42 GMT -5
The "reality" is that none of us knows the reality. Lots of experts are trying their level best to try and provide us with projections but very few of the projections we have seen to date have turned out to be particularly accurate.
It's very likely there are going to be restrictions when we go back limiting contact and size of groups but no one can predict what that will look like at this point. The measured approach adopted by Softball Canada and PWSA of pushing back the start several weeks or a month at a time seems the most prudent approach given the level of uncertainty.
The province today did announce that the return to school was going to be pushed back from early May but also stressed that they were not canceling it for the whole year.
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Post by Athletics 1 on Apr 14, 2020 16:41:14 GMT -5
The one thing we can ALL agree on is the desire to get back on the field and to our normal lives...unfortunately, as the days go by the chances of a season are starting to slip away. With all the restrictions in various cities, towns, etc, it will be a challenge to say the least to have everyone start at the same time if given the green light. Think of it in this respect, if the CFL is already postponed until July it would be hard to believe Softball Canada allowing amateur athletes/kids to start before professionals. This is a once in a lifetime event, (hopefully), and we may just have to live one summer without a ball season, but looking at the big picture there are far more pressing issues for people to worry about at this time. Like a previous post mentioned, our goal should be to keep the players active, involved and engaged and ready to play again in 2021 if in fact they are denied the opportunity this season. Stay healthy everyone, better times are ahead!
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Post by softballfan5 on Apr 15, 2020 7:51:51 GMT -5
Reality is the season, specifically tournaments, is not happening. Does anyone think there is any chance they will allow a tournament with 10 teams (say 200 people with players and one parent each) to gather at a field in July or even August? With over 40 deaths in Ontario in the last 24 hours, there is almost zero chance of any summer games. We should focus on trying to find some fun games, once we are allowed, in September/October to keep girls wanting to play. The thought of back to back off seasons will drive a bunch of kids away from the game. Wow negative Nellie!......  ) It will affect many sports not just softball. But I believe if handled the right way the passion for softball will be even stronger!! Softball in September/October is not an option for many because of winter sports starting as well as post-secondary school for the u19 girls. |
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Post by blueman on Apr 21, 2020 1:20:03 GMT -5
Baseball Ontario has suspended operations until May 31.
"Baseball Ontario remains committed to the safety of the baseball community. While the COVID‐ 19 situation remains fluid, we are continuing to monitor the situation. Based on the guidelines of the provincial government and public health authorities, the suspension of all in‐person baseball programs and activities is being extended until May 31, 2020."
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Post by jasonnisbet23 on Apr 21, 2020 10:29:22 GMT -5
Baseball Ontario has suspended operations until May 31. "Baseball Ontario remains committed to the safety of the baseball community. While the COVID‐ 19 situation remains fluid, we are continuing to monitor the situation. Based on the guidelines of the provincial government and public health authorities, the suspension of all in‐person baseball programs and activities is being extended until May 31, 2020." PWSA made their announcement last night that they are operating 2 weeks at a time. So as of right now, PWSA teams are on hold until at least May 4th. I personally think the worst thing any of us can do right now is guess at the outcome and pass our guesses off as fact. It is too bad that the GTA has shut down diamonds until July so far out. However, I personally hope that the PWSA looks at this situation based on province wide numbers and availability of diamonds. There are many centres outside the GTA whose diamonds have not been closed until July and are operating week to week or in line with Government of Ontario guidelines. I hope to see that once the province opens back up, whenever that is, that communities and associations are allowed to get back to sports in a way that makes sense for each community. If exhibition games or league games are allowed to take place and diamonds are available I think that it should be up the the associations at that point. Why should the GTA and their diamond decisions affect Windsor or Sudbury or anywhere else. Please note before you respond I did say AFTER the government has given their approval to restart activities. I do not think that softball should come before safety of the community. |
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Post by blueman on Apr 21, 2020 15:10:21 GMT -5
Jason,
You are right. Why should Sudbury or Windsor or Ottawa be affected by the GTA?
But if baseball isn't allowed, and soccer isn't allowed, and hockey isn't allowed, do you think the cities are going to allow softball?
The other sports have much more clout when it comes to dealing with the government. Given the position of these other sports in Ontario, and that Softball Canada also recommended suspending operations until May 31, I don't see any municipality opening the sports fields for softball until at least June.
Furthermore, if it isn't safe for kids to be back if school, it probably isn't safe for kids to be doing any other group activity.
Let's let the doctors and politicians decide when it is safe to resume our lives, and not a day sooner.
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Post by SoftballMOM on Apr 21, 2020 15:40:25 GMT -5
Jason, You are right. Why should Sudbury or Windsor or Ottawa be affected by the GTA? But if baseball isn't allowed, and soccer isn't allowed, and hockey isn't allowed, do you think the cities are going to allow softball? The other sports have much more clout when it comes to dealing with the government. Given the position of these other sports in Ontario, and that Softball Canada also recommended suspending operations until May 31, I don't see any municipality opening the sports fields for softball until at least June. Furthermore, if it isn't safe for kids to be back if school, it probably isn't safe for kids to be doing any other group activity. Let's let the doctors and politicians decide when it is safe to resume our lives, and not a day sooner. |
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Post by SoftballMOM on Apr 21, 2020 15:47:55 GMT -5
Fully agree with Blueman, so many speculations have been had and many more to come. But government along with healthcare assessments and decisions trump them all. It becomes a political issue if an association or league decides to open up just because they think they can, or because they havent decided to close their fields. Also, the logistics, amount of control, procedures, restrictions, and ethics on games need to be established and quite frankly no league or associations I dont think have any of these or in a position to establish these since they have been relying on government and health care community to make calls and provide guidelines. This process alone can take weeks if not months.
We miss softball and baseball for sure but the extent of this issue is beyond sports, it becomes a logistical,ethical and possibly legal issue. My 2 cents.
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Post by justplayball on Apr 25, 2020 11:12:20 GMT -5
Tough situation all around. Important year for many. Lots of stress and anxiety all around with getting used to how school is going, parents losing jobs etc etc etc. Everyone is itching to play but I think about what if a player gets sick and the outcome is negative or what if a parent who is high risk gets it? I think there are other factors. How do you keep everyone safe? Law suits, insurance issues and just bad outcomes....does an organization want to wear that? Sure maybe nothing will happen but odds are great until you are part of the wrong side of the odds.
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Post by Athletics 1 on Apr 27, 2020 19:40:14 GMT -5
So how does everyone feel after listening to the Ontario government's announcement today in relation to the hopes for something of a season this summer?
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Post by angeldadof2 on Apr 28, 2020 8:34:17 GMT -5
So how does everyone feel after listening to the Ontario government's announcement today in relation to the hopes for something of a season this summer? Not good. |
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Post by 1sofyballmom on Apr 28, 2020 12:25:40 GMT -5
So how does everyone feel after listening to the Ontario government's announcement today in relation to the hopes for something of a season this summer? If they let pro teams play without fans then I hope they let amateur teams do the same when they start easing restrictions. It would be annoying to see the pro teams with a different earlier phase in date than the amateur teams. I for one would be happy to hear the games on GameChanger radio from the parking lot or home if that’s what is needed to let the girls play initially. |
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Post by jyrm55 on Apr 28, 2020 12:47:34 GMT -5
So how does everyone feel after listening to the Ontario government's announcement today in relation to the hopes for something of a season this summer? If they let pro teams play without fans then I hope they let amateur teams do the same when they start easing restrictions. It would be annoying to see the pro teams with a different earlier phase in date than the amateur teams. I for one would be happy to hear the games on GameChanger radio from the parking lot or home if that’s what is needed to let the girls play initially. Easy enough to do at the U14+ divisions. Would be tougher to implement at U10 and (to a lesser extent, perhaps) U12. I've been considering this as an option for my tournament in July - asking for a minimal amount of "fans" to come out. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2020 13:00:36 GMT -5
So how does everyone feel after listening to the Ontario government's announcement today in relation to the hopes for something of a season this summer? If they let pro teams play without fans then I hope they let amateur teams do the same when they start easing restrictions. It would be annoying to see the pro teams with a different earlier phase in date than the amateur teams. I for one would be happy to hear the games on GameChanger radio from the parking lot or home if that’s what is needed to let the girls play initially. I agree with what you’re saying. But let’s take into consideration, pro teams generate revenue, and also get paid to play. Is the risk worth the reward for amateur athletes? It’s the conversation they’re having right now with college sports: if it’s not safe for the fans to attend, what makes it safe for the athletes to participate? When you put the word ‘pro’ in front of it, that means you’re an employee. And when your employer tells you to go back to work, you do so or you lose your job or your wage suffers. That’s why you’ll see pro sports played with no fans. With all that being said, I of course would love to see softball played again this summer. It looked as if the numbers were starting to drop a bit, but spiked again today. So although we may have ‘peaked’, we’ll see how long the curve stays flat until we see a steady decline in numbers. Which, at that point, we can have a serious discussion about having somewhat of a season. Stay safe |
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Post by blueman on Apr 28, 2020 14:36:20 GMT -5
The pro teams will have requirements that the team doctors that will be monitoring the players health.
Also most pro leagues are looking at ways to reduce travel to minimize the risk of contracting the virus. MLB is looking at playing all games in Arizona.
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Post by 1sofyballmom on Apr 28, 2020 17:41:06 GMT -5
As you know kids have had a very low infection rate. But as I said it would be after an all clear before something like this would happen if at all. I would be more concerned that the coaches or umpires would get COVID 19 after they go back to work. I’m sure this scenario is being discussed by most tournament organizers and the PWSA as best, worst and most likely outcomes shift with each passing day.
I think most Squirt+ parents would be fine with the coaches supervising their kids at tournaments if no fans are allowed just pick up and drop off. I’m more interested in what the Umpire’s Association is saying since there are a large number of Umpires that are in high risk age categories and if we have no Umpires we have no games. We should all expect a new normal if the season does get underway and hopefully everyone is patient as this all plays out just in case the girls get a chance to play a bit this season.
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Post by Athletics 1 on Apr 28, 2020 18:59:37 GMT -5
Hope for somewhat of a regular season of league play, wherever you are, starting around July. Think the way things stand now tourney play will be out of the question, but hopefully I'm wrong!
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Post by blueman on Apr 29, 2020 0:54:50 GMT -5
Umpires are free to do as many or few games as they want. I'm sure there will be umpires that take the year off, but there are some umpires that rely on umpiring for income.
Also, I imagine thay if there are no tournaments, there will be umpires that won't spend the money to register this season because they won't make enough money.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2020 6:20:44 GMT -5
There’s a couple points that I feel still need to be addressed. And I’ve been hesitant to post this because I don’t want to seem like a downer, but I feel it’s simply the reality of the situation.
1. you’re half right about saying kids have had a low infection rate. But let’s also take into consideration, their lives were the first we shut down. We also don’t test people that show zero symptoms. So if you’re asymptomatic, you can’t just go get tested, and that’s what makes things a bit scary. It effects people with compromised immune systems. So for the kids that have asthma, I think there’s reason to worry. There have been cases reported of kids that have gotten the virus though.
2. How are we going to ensure germs don’t spread while playing? Are we going to go as far as bringing Lysol wipes to every game, wiping the benches, the fences, the bats, the balls, etc? I heard last year at U12 provincials, that a team or 2 was trying to get a player kicked out because they found out she had a rash on her leg and they were scared it would spread to their players.
3. What happens if things open up, say July 1st, and a player develops a runny nose, or a sore throat, or a fever by July 15th? That player, that team, the teams they’ve had contact with over the past 14 days, do they all go into a 14 day isolation (which should also mean coaches/parents/umpires wouldn’t be able to go to work)? Or what if you find out another team is trying to ‘hide’ that their ‘star player’ has these symptoms? Look at my 2nd point and how teams reacted to a rash. Or are we just going to assume it’s a cold/flu and carry on with life as we know it?
4. Would the kids be playing with masks?
I’m sure we’ve all thought of these things. Just putting it on paper. I just find things tough to see until there’s a vaccine for the general public. Stay safe.
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Post by jasonnisbet23 on Apr 29, 2020 7:15:51 GMT -5
The idea of a no softball summer is not fun for anyone to think about. There was an article yesterday written (from B.C. mind you) that they are currently looking at ways to keep social distancing and play softball. For example, they are looking at a "touch line" much like two pitch instead of using the plate for plays at home in order to avoid contact. They are also saying the girls may be forced to wear masks. I know these would be a departure from "normal" but if it allows the girls on the diamonds safely, I think PWSA will look into it. There was also strategies for distancing on the benches etc. And if it requires bringing Lysol wipes to the games...great!!! I don't see any issue with that. All that being said, ORSA just announced they have cancelled all competitions for 2020. They are leaving the possibilities open for "Local Seasons" but the championships and tournaments have been cancelled.
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