ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Many youth sports leagues in Northeast Wisconsin, and across the country, are making decisions on whether they will have games this summer.
If the leagues are hoping to play, it often means they need permission from the municipality that owns the field they play on.
After spending much of the last few months at home, Mitch and Lauren McKinnon tell FOX they’re ready to play ball.
“Like I really want to play,” said Mitch McKinnon, a 14-year-old baseball player from Ashwaubenon.
“I’m really looking forward to it, but I’m not really excited for all the changes,” said Lauren McKinnon, a 10-year-old softball player from Ashwaubenon.
All the changes are outlined in detailed plans the youth sports groups submitted to the Village of Ashwaubenon, hoping to get the green light to play.
“I don’t really mind them as long as we get to play,” said Mitch McKinnon.
Changes for softball and baseball in Ashwaubenon include players using their own equipment, teams using their own balls, players sitting outside dugouts to promote social distancing, and signing waivers acknowledging the risks of playing during the pandemic.
“The most important thing to us was lets get on the field first and from there we can look to what can we dial up and where do we dial back,” said Jason Fonder, President of Ashwaubenon Youth Baseball.
Fonder tells FOX 11 concessions will not be in operation, which is about 90% of the revenue for Ashwaubenon’s youth baseball program. He says as a result, teams will not have uniforms this season and they will be wearing donated hats from the Green Bay Booyah.
Ashwaubenon’s youth soccer association started coming up with its own plans to play, but decided it was too much and won’t have a season.
“It just seemed like we were putting a lot of kind of restrictions and guidelines on coaches and players and referees and we just weren’t comfortable putting all those things on volunteers, but mostly the safety of the kids,” said Melody Escoto, Ashwaubenon Youth Soccer Association President.
Trustees of the Ashwaubenon Village Board agreed the final decisions will be made by parents.
“If they’re willing to let their children play and they sign the waiver, I don’t have a problem with that,” said Ken Bukowski, a trustee.
On a unanimous vote, the board provided the go ahead for youth baseball, softball, and swimming to have seasons this summer. However, board members said its important to remember the seasons could end early if there’s another rise in cases.
Ashwaubenon’s parks director says municipalities seem to have mixed views on letting youth sports resume this summer.
Green Bay’s youth baseball leagues are trying to come up with plans to play, but their soccer leagues already canceled their seasons.
