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Youth baseball is back

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
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After putting protocols in place, youth sports leagues like the Peters Township Baseball Association are back in action after a three-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic

Cause for celebration? Yes, teams just aren’t sure how.

Peters Township has adopted a no-contact policy, which includes no high-fives between players after a home run, no postgame hand shakes between opponents and no storming the mound after claiming a tournament championship.

“Cheering, yes. Clapping, yes,” said Josh Eckenrode, who coaches the 9-year-old travel team. “We tip our hat for a good play, good game or home run.”

“No dog piles when we win a tournament,” assistant coach Mark Vizza added. “Each team is going to have to get creative to form their own thing.”

Nevertheless, coaches and players are thrilled to be playing again.

“Excited” was the word of choice used by 9-year-olds Eli Eckenrode and Landon Vizza to describe how they felt regarding their recent return to the diamond. They said they missed their friends and love baseball.

“It’s great to be back,” said Vizza.

“We are excited,” agreed Josh Eckenrode. “It’s long overdue. We have been waiting so long for the chance to get back on the field.”

After putting a plan in place, PTBA awaited and received approval from the township’s parks and recreation board. The organization outlined specific protocols.

All coaches must have masks on at all time. Players have to have masks on if they are not in the field. They may take them off if they are actually playing.

Physical distancing requires players stay six feet apart, especially in the dugout.

There is no sharing of equipment. All balls have to be sanitized after each practice.

There also must be a two-hour lapse in time between games with two different teams.

“It’s nothing crazy, but definitely we had to rethink how we did everything,” Eckenrode said.

Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed in all dugouts and players are encouraged to use them when they come off the field.

“We are throwing the common ball around,” Eckenrode said. “So we use it almost at the end of each inning. That way it’s cleaning their hands every time they come off the field. It gets rid of any of those chances (of catching the virus).”

Additionally, there is no contact unless of course the bat hits the ball.

“Coaches are not allowed to touch any of the kids during instruction or games,” Eckenrode said. “Basically, it’s all verbal.”

Vizza added the process is working out pretty well.

“We are able to do what we need to do,” he said. “We don’t really need to place the kids at this age. They know enough fundamentals that we can say bring your bat back here and they understand without having to put hands on them or the bat.”

After a few scrimmages, teams will start tournament play this week. Peters Township, however, will host games nearer to the end of July.

“It’s great to be back. We’ve all missed baseball,” Eckenrode said.

“The kids have been dying to get out on the field for months now,” Vizza added. “It’s good to be out in the heat and doing some thing.”

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