Coronavirus could cancel kids’ baseball season

Although there are several Little League organizations on the North Shore, their administrators have all expressed the same sentiments about the potential of a lost season: Spring won’t be the same without youth baseball.

While not having a season would be hard for experienced Little Leaguers, Gold Coast Little League coach Ryan Nardone said it could be just as tough for children hoping to play for the first time. They would miss out on the lessons in socialization that are an integral part of playing a team sport, he said, and an important part of any child’s life. There is nothing like the camaraderie of a team, he said.

“I think they’re missing out on developing their skills,” said Dave Ludmar, a Sea Cliff Baseball & North Shore Softball League board member, “being out with their friends and all the lessons baseball and softball teach kids, like sportsmanship, teamwork and how to win and how to lose.”

Fellow board member Mark D’Altorio, the league’s tee ball coordinator, said that developing social skills is especially important for children in that division. Tee ball is a social activity, he explained, the first opportunity for many children to play organized sports and make friends, even before starting school. “I think that sense of community — just being introduced to new people — is a big thing that they’re missing out on right now,” D’Altorio said.

Fewer opportunities for physical activity in the midst of a pandemic are also a concern to Little League administrators and coaches, since staying inside can limit a child’s chances to exercise. James Versocki, commissioner of Sea Cliff Baseball & North Shore Softball League, said that his son, Jonathan, 12, a sixth-grader at North Shore Middle School, has had to keep a log of physical fitness activity every day for school. One of the ways he has stayed active is with online CrossFit classes.

Nonetheless, D’Altorio acknowledged the common understanding that staying healthy is more important than sports. “People have it a great deal worse than not being able to play baseball,” he said. “It’s difficult, but I think you understand that other people’s well-being, especially the children and parents who come out to the games, is paramount in importance.”

Even if the Little League season is canceled, Belyea said, the Glen Cove Parks and Recreation Department could host pickup game nights, when children could play unofficial games of supervised baseball, softball, kickball or wiffle ball. They would likely take place in the city’s John Maccarone Stadium, she said, with Pascucci Soccer Field as a possible alternative.

“This is a bad situation for all,” Belyea said, “and Parks and Recreation is really hopeful that we can still open our facilities and roll out programs for our residents, and give them a bit of respite in this difficult time.”