The COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t stop the sights and sounds of youth baseball in Alberta in 2020. Through the cooperative efforts of administrators, coaches, parents and players, reduced schedules of games were played safely and successfully in various communities.
Heath and safety measures designed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus were paramount in keeping bats cracking and gloves snapping. Associations across Alberta are now looking ahead to the 2021 season. With precautions in place, the Alberta Amateur Baseball Council (AABC) is optimistic about a spring and summer that has players in the swing to one degree or another.
“I think we have to run things similar to what we did last year to keep the kids safe,” said Dale Tilleman, high performance coordinator for the AABC, a provincial organization that receives funding from Alberta Sport Connection to distribute to its member organizations, namely Baseball Alberta, Little League Alberta, American Legion, Babe Ruth and two collegiate baseball programs – the University of Calgary Dinos and the Prairie Baseball Academy Dawgs. The AABC is also responsible for bringing teams together to represent Alberta, and zones within Alberta, at provincial- and national-level competitions.
“We’ve had the pandemic with us almost a year now,” Tilleman continued. “We have to respect it but we can’t live in our basements. If I had a son or daughter still eligible to play, I’d make sure that they have their hand sanitizer, I’d make sure they have a mask. I’d make sure that when I went to the ballpark, I pay attention to the (public health) rules and regulations.”
Passion for baseball has always been high in Alberta and it appears to be heating up even more, especially at the grassroots level. As an example, Tilleman pointed to Red Deer, which had about 300 kids playing baseball five to six years ago and now has more than 1,000. Total player registration across Alberta last year, he said, was around 34,000.
When coronavirus shutdowns started in March of 2020, the situation was disheartening for those in Alberta baseball circles. On the bright side, conversations between Little League Alberta President/CEO Kevin Kvame and the provincial government helped keep the ball in play in some locations.
“He presented the case to the Alberta government and we got the young kids playing, primarily those between 12 to about 18. They got involved in playing quite a bit,” said Tilleman, who is based in Taber, about 50 kilometres east of Lethbridge.
“Some of the teams here in southern Alberta and Calgary, they got up to between 20 and 25 games. That was pretty good. That was basically the coaches and the baseball executives that did the grunt work there. They kept the kids safe and played their games. You walked into the ballpark and you saw some sanitation going on, some spacing going on. That was gratifying to see that happen, and it had to be a cooperative effort because if you would have had one or two outbreaks at ballparks, we would’ve been shut down. For the people to work together and pay attention to that, they all deserve some accolades.
“The one thing that was most gratifying of all, I was at a couple places where they were having their first games of the year, and the smiles on the kids’ faces, they were from ear to ear.”
Baseball grins weren’t limited to the southern portion of the province. Tilleman said some Edmonton-area teams played 12 to 14 games, and that was also the case for some clubs in central Alberta.
Tilleman also attended a number of practices and small group workouts during the 2020 season. At those sessions, he saw safety measures being taken seriously.
“When the kids came in, they brought their hand sanitizer, they added their own face masks – lots of places, they required them to wear masks,” he said. “They had their own chairs to sit on along the fence. There were lots of programs that made a good effort and they were able to keep the kids safe.”
Tilleman said not a single case of coronavirus in Alberta was linked to baseball in 2020.
For the 2021 season, baseball in Alberta will adhere to rules and restrictions set by Alberta Health Services and the provincial government. Updated measures came into effect on Feb. 8 (please click here to view).
At this point, practices are permitted (maximum of 10 individuals, with physical distancing and other protocols in place). Games are not currently allowed but the situation is ever-evolving.
“The pandemic is not on the back burner yet, for sure,” Tilleman said. “But if we follow the guidelines, I think there are lots of people who really want to get out and get playing this year.”
Jason Peters is a freelance writer and editor based in Prince George, British Columbia. Visit his website at www.frontpagepublications.net.
