covid and the future of softball and sports for our youth

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Jun 8, 2016
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Toc-toc wasn't cancelled so the youth will be just fine. The parents who think their presence at the games is the difference between a win or a loss for their Suzy Cue, maybe not so much.
 
Jun 8, 2016
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I once thought youth baseball/softball parents were crazy but until you've seen a mother scream "he's choking him" at the top of her lungs you haven't lived.
Parents are crazy in all youth sports but in those sports where there is more contact and/or "action" there is more opportunity for the psychotic behavior to take place. In my experience for example, AAU basketball is worse than softball.
 
Oct 3, 2011
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Right Here For Now
Here in my area of Ohio, hospitals have canceled elective surgeries. The Cleveland Clinic is at capacity and last news report I heard, they have 973 doctors and nurses out due to Covid-19.

As for softball, high schools around here are playing sports with the occasional sporting event canceled. That said, our Governor just suspended all HS sporting events and practices until December 22nd. As for college, DD has been on-line for the last 2 semesters and of course, last season was canceled as everyone knows. With the rise in cases in Pa. where DD is in college, I can already foresee classes continuing that way. As for a season, I don't see that happening within their conference. But who knows? There's still talk of one being possible if not limited in scope.

The long term effects of this pandemic are going to be vast when it comes to recruiting and all of those won't be seen for years. With the NCAA continuing to extend their blackout periods, it's going to make it very difficult for all involved. The players and their families will be on pins and needles for longer periods of time because the college coaches will probably put off their decisions longer due to them only being able to see game video. They aren't there in person to see how the player interacts with their teammates, coaches, parents, etc. They aren't there to see the intangibles that many of them base their decisions on. JMO but it's based on discussions I've had with DD's coach and several others I've talked to recently. Of course, it's more about what was left unsaid than said.

The other problem the players face will be dealing with upperclassmen that may be there an additional year, or possibly two depending on if the NCAA extends the eligibility yet again. This will cut the athletic monies available even further depending upon the program and make the coaches spread it thinner meaning fewer dollars available for new recruits. Not to mention many athletes will be waiting longer to get on the field when competing against upperclassmen that have a proven track record in the coaches eyes.

It's a real mess all around and I really don't see things shaking out as far as recruiting goes for at least 5-6 years after everything settles down due to herd immunity or the country is vaccinated as a whole.
 
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Dec 11, 2010
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Will NCAA try to fix this mess? Allow more scholarships until the extra years of eligibility run out? Or just let it ride? After all, wasn’t all this about fairness?

Some schools won’t spend the additional scholarship money. They would resist NCAA allowing extra scholarships I would guess.

What should the coaches do? When your roster is 20, 25, 30 and you have a class of 4, 5, 6, 7 freshmen coming in next fall? All were committed before all this started. Do you just keep adding players?

Would be an awesome time for non softball schools to start programs from a player availability standpoint.
 
May 11, 2014
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How long can the college's continue to support the non revenue sports with no fans in the stands(michigan stadium 100,000ish seats, no money from them). If television revenue falls it could get very ugly very quickly for even the biggest programs.
 
Dec 2, 2013
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Texas
The other problem the players face will be dealing with upperclassmen that may be there an additional year, or possibly two depending on if the NCAA extends the eligibility yet again. This will cut the athletic monies available even further depending upon the program and make the coaches spread it thinner meaning fewer dollars available for new recruits. Not to mention many athletes will be waiting longer to get on the field when competing against upperclassmen that have a proven track record in the coaches eyes.
DD was told that this year will not count against her eligibility, which means she could be playing as a 24 yr old. Highly doubt that will happen, but it's there if she wants to. This goes for all DIII schools as I read it. Not sure if it is up to the individual institution if they allow it. Anyone hearing something different?

Here's an article from the school newspaper.
https://utdmercury.com/ncaa-implements-eligibility-waiver-for-d-iii-athletes/
 
May 27, 2013
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Here in my area of Ohio, hospitals have canceled elective surgeries. The Cleveland Clinic is at capacity and last news report I heard, they have 973 doctors and nurses out due to Covid-19.

Yes. That is what we are experiencing, as well. We have a lot of staff being hit hard right now and unable to come to work. Not sure why staff are being hit hard now, as this wasn’t as much of an issue back in April.
 
Dec 11, 2010
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NBC news talked about how the first plane load of vaccine has arrived and who will get it first when it’s approved. Health care workers and residents of long term care facilities probably come first- this will take longer than it seems but we do have until mid February so maybe it will filter down to the least needy groups such as healthy college students.

I have a former boss who was a very fit and healthy guy who hit his one month anniversary in ICU yesterday. Has been on a ventilator most of that time and has one lung that is not currently working. The last update contained the sentence “Tom is still alive.” Sobering.
 
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