by PairOfAces » Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:09 pm
My DD's Tennessee HS season ended in early March. She began practicing with her travel team in May, and began playing a friendly and then tournaments in early June. 2 "showcases" in Atlanta, 2 tournaments in Chattanooga, and one local to the Nashville area. Social distancing was hit or miss but probably more than 50% of the parents seemed to be trying, including DW and I.
Girls didn't really social distance in the dugout, and about the only thing that changed with the game was the post game meeting. No handshaking but plenty of teams gathered around the circle, not too close, for a post game prayer, which is very big here in the south.
As for COVID, based on what I heard from numerous travel ball websites/FB pages, one team from North Carolina withdrew from a showcase because of possible exposure. On our team, two players were told they were around a boy who MAY have been exposed, so they self-quarantined, and missed the first three games of a tournament. After the 10 day waiting period with no symptoms, they and the head coach, one of the girl's dads, rejoined the team. I have heard nothing about any softball players, teams, parents, etc actually catching COVID, which I'm sure would have spread through the south. Nor have I heard of any positive tests, real or false, from anyone in the softball community.
Bottom line, I think softball and baseball could have been played all summer long, in any state. I also believe that in-person recruiting could and should have been allowed. If universities can't trust their coaches to protect themselves against catching a flu/cold, should they pay them big salaries and entrust them with student athletes?
Also, went to our HS's first football game of the season on Friday. Teachers made sure the student section kept their masks on, although they didn't social distance. Other fans sd'ed and wore masks. Sheriff Deputies actually went along the stands and "reminded" a couple of scofflaws to put on the mask or get kicked out. Also, the ADs have the authority to stop a game and not resume until people mask up. It happened at one middle TN game this past weekend.