Decorah High School baseball and softball practices to begin Monday

Posted: Wed, May 27, 2020 8:36 PM

With recently lifted restrictions on baseball and softball, the Decorah High School teams can begin practice on Monday. Competitions will begin on Monday, June 15th. Other summer sports seasons are still in discussion.

Participants, parents, and spectators can expect a much different season with many guidelines in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Athletic Director Adam Riley states, "This has been a whirlwind, but we wouldn't ask your son or daughter to do anything we wouldn't do ourselves."

Superintendent Mark Lane applauds Riley, saying, "(He) and the other ADs in the conference have been working diligently. I really appreciate all the work they've done, and what will stand out is the consistency they're striving to have in place throughout the conference competition sites." For example, there will be posted signage with specific messages at each field that will encourage spectators to create a safe environment.

The posted signs are just the beginning of the list of news things. Student athletes will be asked to sign an Agreement for Participation in School Activities form, which is a signing agreement to comply with safety measures in place. This same form will be used for other school activities, like marching band and cheerleading, that might be able to take place later in the summer. Also, there will be monitoring of student athletes' temperatures. Coaches will be equipped with I-Pads to get a daily log of how their players are doing.

Both the baseball and softball teams will have individual sets of catcher gear for each catcher on the team, along with individual batting helmets. Any equipment that is shared will have a thorough wipe down.

Each school in the conference is expected to bring their own sanitizer to the competitions, and there will also be sanitation stations in each dugout.

With the long list of new things added to the seasons, a few things will be missing from the baseball and softball games. There will be no admission for the games, but a free will offering might be accepted. Also, there will be no concession stands. The portable bleachers at the Decorah sites will be removed, and spectators are encouraged to bring their own chairs. Because of this, one last thing that will be missing is the wind screening that goes around a large portion of the fields. With this removed, spectators will be able to space out in their own chairs all around the perimeter of the field.

Riley says, "We are taking the steps to do things right, and we appreciate everyone's patience."

Baseball and softball parents are invited to attend a Zoom meeting on Thursday evening for more information. The baseball meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. with the softball meeting following at 7:30 p.m.