Youth sports in a holding pattern thanks to coronavirus

The silence is deafening. As the calendar turns to spring in Northeast Ohio, it's normally the season when gymnasiums and ball fields come alive with the sounds of local athletes training and competing with their club, travel and community teams. While much has been discussed about the impact the coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing measures in place to contain it has had on the high school sports community, the outbreak has also brought the rest of the local sports world to a halt. On a normal March weekend, The National Basketball Academy would have boys and girls travel teams ranging in age from third grade to high school playing in various tournaments across the state. Now TNBA teams are left unable to play or practice, unsure when, or if, their seasons will be able to resume. "There is so much gray area right now, we're really in limbo," said Jay Valdez, TNBA's director of girls leagues on Cleveland's west side. "We've had to shut it down completely, no practices. We've cancelled two tournaments through the end of month and we may have to cancel more beyond that." "It's upsetting to me and it's upsetting to the kids," said Valdez, who is also the Amherst girls coach. "But you can't take any chances. It's about keeping everyone healthy. These kids are young and healthy, they are athletes, but you also have to be concerned about the trickle-down effect. You go to visit grandma and grandpa and next thing you know one of them is not doing well." Valadez said the decision on cancelling tournaments usually needs to be made at least three weeks in advance and the longer the public health crisis drags out it will become a crushing blow to the TNBA employees, who spend the entire year gearing up for the spring season. "It's a devastating blow without a question," Valdez said. "Not only to the owners, but for the directors and the coaches and trainers, the impact is just devastating. The bills don't stop coming in, we all know that. We're in the middle of this right now and I think it's gonna get worse before it gets better. The gyms are closed, everything is shut down, there's no getting around it." Elyria wrestling coach Erik Burnett said in a normal March freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments would be getting under way now. With many wrestlers still waiting to see if the OHSAA state tournament will ever take place and their gyms and training centers closed, there is nothing but uncertainty. "You have people who are truly, truly dealing with this illness that are sick. Our thoughts are with them," Burnett said. "We're just dealing with the ramifications of it. It's just going to depend on where things go with this curve. I know we're trying to flatten the curve right now. As long as it's trending upward, I think any timeline of anything is really difficult. Obviously, you don't want this freestyle and Greco season to get wiped out all together, but we just have to follow along with what's happening in the real world." The Lorain County Soccer League, which has 1,400 players, ages 6-14, on 113 teams from communities in Lorain and Erie counties, is still holding out hope its season can begin as scheduled on April 18. "Right now the season is scheduled to start in April but we are also talking about moving it to the first week in May and playing eight games in four weeks," LCSL president Paul Grabo said. "I'm hoping OHSAA lets (high schools) start playing in April and then I think Ohio North (the governing body of youth soccer in this region) is going to follow suit." Grabo said the LCSL is considering the possibility of playing games with parents restricted to the parking lots and only players, coaches and referees and supervisors on the field to stay within the current Centers for Disease Control guidelines prohibiting a gathering of more than 50 people, which are currently in place until at least May 10. Ohio Hot Stove Baseball League executive secretary and North Ridgeville Baseball League treasurer and past president Pat Anderson is also remaining hopefully that, "Play Ball," will be heard at Palmer Field and other fields throughout the Lorain County Hot Stove program on May 4. "We're going to continue to be sensitive to what the government says regarding gatherings, but we're looking at a May 4 start date at the earliest," Anderson said. "Our first concern is the safety and the kids and the parents but we also want to get the word out there that we are still looking forward to having a great baseball and softball season." Anderson said because the Ohio Hot Stove state finals aren't scheduled until July 25-26, neither the state organization nor the individual charters have yet to set a firm date and when a decision will need to be made regarding the 2020 season. "We're hoping everything has peaked and is coming back down," he said. "We're all hoping we can get baseball and softball back into our lives and get some good vibes and good feeling back in the community." On the local level, Anderson said North Ridgeville has had to postpone Palmer Field spring cleanups and its annual night at the races fundraiser to adhere to current social distancing regulations. Burning River Lacrosse girls lacrosse director Todd Kortowich, who is also head coach at Avon, said Burning River is in a holding pattern, waiting to see what the OHSAA does with the high school lacrosse season before figuring out how, or if, it will be able to proceed with its 2020 programs. "We're being precautionary because we hope the high school season comes back," Kortowich said. "If it does, that means great things for us as far as people wanting to come on board and get extra work in the summer." The summer lacrosse program mostly involves in-house practices along with travel to a handful of showcases and tournaments, which allows its teams to face competition from across the Midwest and its players to improve their skills and be seen by college coaches. Because Burning River can't really begin until the high school and middle school seasons are complete, it has the ability to wait until early June before having to make difficult decisions. "If the (high school) season cancels, then it comes into play what happens with the summer sessions," Kortowich said. "If we have to cancel the summer sessions, that will be a disaster for us." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.