No Softball in Illinois this Summer?

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Jul 16, 2013
4,659
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Pennsylvania
Makes perfect sense. However with PA and NJ governors fighting like hell to stay closed for as long as possible to get a bailout we may not be open for play till August.

Unfortunately that is a very realistic possibility. My team has decided to not play at all this summer, so I have not done any research about tournaments. Several of them still want to get together for hitting when we are permitted to do so.
 
May 29, 2015
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27 deaths in the southern most 16 counties of Illinois. 24 of which came from long term care or nursing facilities. The other 3 were in the high risk category.

We are socially distant because we don’t live on top of each other. Our economy is being crippled for what benefit. If those counties were opened up and those people in the high risk categories took precautions and the rest of us used common sense and avoided certain behaviors, washed our hands frequently and avoided contact unless necessary I just cannot see there being a situation where that death total goes from 27 to 1,000. Let the towns have little league with minor reasonable modifications.

I agree with some of what you say Coach ... rural areas are naturally much more socially distanced and that is why rural numbers are lower. Once people start moving around more, you will see those numbers go up. The numbers aren't low because it has run its course and is gone. The numbers are low because it hasn't had the opportunity to proliferate yet. It isn't just because you are on one side of a man-made line or in one geographic area.

We only have four counties in Illinois that haven't reported a case yet ... Putnam (95/102), Edgar (61/102), Scott (99/102), and Pope (101/102). That ranking in parenthesis is the population rank out of our 102 counties.

Fifteen of those "southern 16" you refer to (there is a good line for the southern-most 15, I wasn't sure which one you were picking for #16) make up 268,000 people out of the 12.67 million in Illinois.

Start traveling out to large events and go back to your small county, you will start bringing it back. Then hold your county fair and watch the numbers shoot through the roof. It isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. 27 will very easily become 1,000.

The counties that you go to for tournaments are not those. Just up the road from you is St. Clair and Madison in the Metro-East area ... the places you probably would be travelling to. That is one of the major hotspots outside of Chicago. You would likely go to to Sangamon and Peoria Counties, also hotspots.

That said, I agree the blanket shutdown -- or blunt instrument approach -- was not the best move. Unfortunately, due to [politics redacted] we did not have the information or resources to make a more appropriate response at the time. I believe it would have been smaller but much more severe actions (actual travel bans and limits, real lockdowns in hotspots, and real fines and punishments for violating the orders) ... and I believe that is the way to move forward. However, we (generic we -- people and politicians) have shown we aren't willing to take more severe actions. We have also burnt up most of the "good will" towards mitigating actions ... so it will get worse as people wander around thinking it is better.

Let's face it, large sports tournaments are not places where you can take meaningful mitigation efforts. Large sports tournaments are naturally SOCIAL events which involve lots of travel and social interaction -- perfect ingredients.
 
May 16, 2016
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I agree with some of what you say Coach ... rural areas are naturally much more socially distanced and that is why rural numbers are lower. Once people start moving around more, you will see those numbers go up. The numbers aren't low because it has run its course and is gone. The numbers are low because it hasn't had the opportunity to proliferate yet. It isn't just because you are on one side of a man-made line or in one geographic area.

Rural South West Georgia, has been one of the worst hotspots in the country. With per capita infection rates equal to New York City. What makes it worse, is these rural communities do not have the hospital capacity to deal with an outbreak. Some of these hardest hit counties in South West Georgia do not even have a hospital, so the sickest patients are transferred to Albany.
 
Nov 4, 2015
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Rural South West Georgia, has been one of the worst hotspots in the country. With per capita infection rates equal to New York City. What makes it worse, is these rural communities do not have the hospital capacity to deal with an outbreak. Some of these hardest hit counties in South West Georgia do not even have a hospital, so the sickest patients are transferred to Albany.

It has been bad in the Albany area. It also was 1 of the first places in Georgia with any outbreaks. I think Albany and southwest GA are an example of a worst case scenario. Started as a funeral home hosted 2 viewings at the same time. A huge amount of the cases in that area can be traced to that event and even some of the spread in Atlanta if i am remembering correctly. With just a little of the sanitizing and distancing practices that everyone is doing now, it's possible nearly all of that may have been avoided. We are FAR less likely to contract this now than we were 2 months ago. Things are getting better daily. Georgia's department of public health website shows a vastly different trend than what you see in the media, but even they don't show active and recovered cases. I put the site on here if anyone is interested.

 
Aug 25, 2019
1,066
113
To play the same team week after week?
If we were in Cali or Texas maybe. In PA we have 3 legit 18u gold teams. The rest are not close. We have players on our team who are commited to SEC, Pac 12, ACC and other P5 conferences. Playing 18U B teams will not prepare these girls for what they will see in the fall and spring in college.
All of our 21s are committed so we're not chasing coaches around.
If you really want to prepare your P5 players for college next year, have then sit on the bench during games. With college seniors returning, how much is a freshman really going to play?......

Then again, what do you think the percentage is of incoming freshman starting on P5 teams? I really don't know, do alot of freshman make the starting 9?
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
If you really want to prepare your P5 players for college next year, have then sit on the bench during games. With college seniors returning, how much is a freshman really going to play?......

Then again, what do you think the percentage is of incoming freshman starting on P5 teams? I really don't know, do alot of freshman make the starting 9?
Maybe on your team.... you should let em sit.
 
May 16, 2016
1,024
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Illinois
Last edited:
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
I'm not sure that you are reading that right @Gambler Bob ... but then I'm not sure how to read it either. Let me ask around (I know a couple of doctors) ... maybe you are right, but we were well over 44,000 COVID-19 deaths on May 6.
 

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