Spring Little League began for the first time in a year due to the pandemic, and parents and players are excited to get back on the field. Little League began in the fall for children ages 9 to 12, and this March practices began for ages 6 to 13. Games began the second week in April.
Parent and coach for the Timber Rattlers, Michelle Fischer, said that in this, her first year of coaching, everyone is mindful about distancing and sanitation because they have the same goal: to play.
“I think there’s great enthusiasm from the parents and the players to be able to start playing again, especially for outdoor sports, and a great love for the game, so we’re excited to be able to start,” Fischer said.
Craig Hebert, the Greenbelt baseball player agent, said that the Covid-19 restrictions include masks on and off the field, sanitation of high-touch surfaces and equipment and no use of the dugout. One big change is that the players can no longer shake hands at the end of the game and instead have to tip their hat at the opposing team players. “I think everyone’s kind of found their way to tip each other’s caps and you know sometimes they tap each other’s helmets or whatever they walk by, but without the handshakes and the high fives and the chest bumps, you know, they just find other ways to encourage each other in a spread-out way,” Hebert said.
As a coach, Hebert has been trying to keep the game the same for the players.
Laura Shepherd has a child on a coach/machine pitch team and says that her 7-year-old struggles with the mask but is motivated because of the love of the game.
“I think he’s just driven by his passion for baseball to deal with all the other restrictions but of course he’d love to be a little bit more normal with being able to share equipment and things,” Shepherd said.
Hebert said that registration was slower this spring. He thinks that people are hesitant because it’s the first time parents are taking their children out in a year.
“I think people have less going on than they did, but kids, parents and families are in general excited to have a destination at the end of the day,” said Hebert.
Shepherd said that she was excited to have baseball to help her son socialize more than in the past year.
“It’s provided some social context, and shared experience for the kids where they can work together as a team,” Shepherd said. “It’s provided all the things that they’ve been missing out on this past year and it’s just given them a way to grow together and grow in their social skills and they’re learning a lot about baseball too. I don’t think Covid has interfered with what being on a baseball team does.”
Melinda Thompson is a University of Maryland journalism student writing for the News Review.