WESTLOCK — The Westlock Soccer Association and the Westlock Minor Baseball Association both have season start dates set, but will have to keep it to training.
Kids in minor baseball will be back on the diamonds May 3 for two months, and soccer players get the pitch May 25 to June 24 — Alberta Soccer gave the go-ahead this week.
With COVID-19 restrictions still in effect, governing bodies have set limits on what local associations can and can’t do this year: the kids can be on the field and train, but can’t play games against other teams or compete in tournaments.
At least as of April 9, those were the instructions.
“We are still waiting on the final go-ahead from Alberta Soccer because for indoor they have some pretty strict rules, but the big thing that we’re struggling with right now is that two metre distancing and being able to guarantee that,” said Dr. Tanya Pollard, president of the soccer association.
“Minor soccer is mostly small children and maintaining social distancing … is really, really hard for us. We're not sure if we can offer programs for that age group.”
Pollard said they are learning from larger communities like Fort Saskatchewan and Sherwood Park, both of which ran similar programs last year.
“It’s just to keep the sport going,” said Minor Baseball president Alisha Theriault. “We’re not charging full price this year, we’re actually doing a huge discount so it’s a lot cheaper and feasible, but just to keep the game alive for the kids and to have them still practicing because they missed a year last year. They need to get back into the game.”
They’re sticking to outdoor-only for baseball, since the curling rink — which they normally use — wasn't fit to accommodate the players while still following public health measures. There are four different fields they can use around town.
“We have the space to continue on. At this point right now, I don’t know how many teams we’ll have, we’re hoping for a little bit more registrations in the next few weeks before the season starts up. But it depends on coaches and volunteers, which is kind of leaving us in a tough spot too,” Theriault said.
Since in soccer, there is no league for U13, U15 and U17, those players won’t be playing any games outside the community.
Pollard says it’s still an opportunity for kids to be outside, stay physically active and mentally healthy.
“That’s what our goal is, to get those kids out there, engaged, get those endorphins up.”
They do, however, get training and skill development in groups no larger than 10 — including coaches — which is a step up from having no season at all.
Registration numbers have dropped for both associations: soccer used to have about 200 kids sign up for a year, and this year they’ve only had 40 so far. In baseball, Theriault says there are usually 100 to 150 players in a year, and about 70 have signed up this year.
“Mosquito and up is very, very low this year, but we have high numbers for t-ball, junior rookie and senior rookie so it’s looking really good,” Theriault said.
Registration is still open for both associations. In some cases, the older players are getting transferred to other nearby associations so they can form a team.
These plans also rely on coaches and volunteers. Baseball is currently short and Theriault is encouraging parents and community members to sign up, and so is Pollard, who said soccer is desperate for coaches.
“You don’t have to have a child playing soccer with us to volunteer,” Pollard said, but those interested must be over 18 and submit a criminal record check.
