As we have navigated this unprecedented pandemic, we have been faced with many challenges: stay at home orders, toilet paper shortages, restaurants closed, wearing face masks, and of course no baseball. The board of directors along with representatives from Freeland Little League, Hazle Township Little League, The Umpire Association, Valley East Babe Ruth, the Women’s Auxiliary, and Luzerne County Manager David Pedri met this past weekend to discuss the 2020 season. We discussed the numerous challenges that we will be faced with in resuming play for the 2020 season. These challenges include: face mask usage, COVID-19 signage, limits on attendance, no dugouts, shared equipment, cleaning and disinfecting the sports complex, restroom usage, child placement during games, social distancing, umpire positioning on the field, no concession sales allowed, no sunflower seeds, gum or spitting on the field, gaps between games for disinfecting, no high-fives or handshakes, no contact, and of course the overall safety of the children, parents, spectators and volunteers.
In the best interest of all involved, we have decided to move forward with a 9 -12-year-old format for this season. There will be no T-Ball or Coach Pitch divisions this season. Based on the guidelines set forth by Little League International and the CDC, we did not feel as though the younger children would be able to safely engage in play. We have asked the head coach of each team (T-Ball, Coach Pitch, 9-10, and 11-12) to reach out to each family to discuss options regarding registration fees, etc. For the 9-10 and 11-12 players, coaches will be in contact to determine if your child will be participating in the above-mentioned format. There will be the need to redraft teams since we are combining the 9-10 and 11-12-year-old age brackets.
Our target date to start practice for the 9 -12-year-old division will be the date that Luzerne County moves into the “Green” phase. We have heard that date will possibly be June 19th or June 26th. The target date for games to begin is July 6th. Given the cost associated with securing signage and cleaning supplies for disinfecting the restrooms, dugouts, fence lines, field equipment, bleachers, batting cages, etc., a decision has been made to play all games at the Hazle Township Little League Complex. Freeland, Valley East, and Hazle Township will share the cost of meeting the COVID-19 related requirements at one location instead of three. Hazle Township has three fields which will allow for multiple games to be played and all resources from the three leagues will be available for cleaning and disinfecting and managing the COVID-19 requirements.
Our sincere apologies to all the players who will not be experiencing the thrill of taking this field this year. This was a very hard decision for the Board as four of us have children that will not be taking the field this season. Please stay safe and healthy.
Sincerely,
Valley East Board of Directors