There’s a reason why “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is one of the most easily recognized songs in America. As a tribute to our national pastime, the tune holds relevancy as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens sports across the country.
From leagues as large as the NFL, to as small as Parkland’s Little League, players and fans recognize the impact sports have on wellbeing, education, and morale. The quarantine we all struggled with has proved the importance of sports as parents tried to find ways to entertain children without organized team activities.
This fall, Parkland hopes to deliver to the community a sports season that incorporates a variety of social distancing practices.
Richard Walker, a Parkland city commissioner, is spearheading the plan to accommodate new guidelines throughout a variety of Parkland leagues.
“Kids need social interaction and the opportunity to listen and learn from their coaches. There’s an element of learning outside the classroom that is definitely valuable,” Walker said.
While he maintains the situation is “fluid,” Parkland plans for fall leagues to continue under Broward County guidelines. This includes socially distancing viewers around the field, as well as spreading individual games farther apart across fields.
Local baseball has continued successfully this summer during the pandemic, and Parkland parents proved they were willing to follow all necessary steps to allow their children to compete.
However, if schools choose to reopen classrooms this fall, it may become more of a challenge for sports to continue if cases rise, specifically with indoor contact activities like basketball and wrestling.
What’s so threatening about a potential shutdown isn’t just the loss of everyday structure, but also how young athletes may have to work even harder next year just to return to the level they competed at before their training time was interrupted.
Demi Snyder, a South Florida local and member of the Harvard women’s tennis team, recently received news that all fall sports at her institution would be canceled. The cancellation affects her preseason training while she awaits a decision for the 2021 spring season.
“Because we missed our last season due to the pandemic, I may only get two seasons with my team to represent my school. After putting so many hours into my sport, it’s hard to know I might not play my first tennis season until I am a junior. It’s tough because there’s no one to blame. It’s just the situation that we’ve been dealt.”
As the future of sports has been threatened indefinitely, it remains important to listen to the voices of our sports community, who all convey their determination and willingness to adapt during tough circumstances.
So long as our community is willing to listen and propose new solutions, athletes this fall can be given the opportunity to prove they are capable of tremendous endurance, beyond the physical feat of passing home base.
By Madison Smith
