LOCAL NEWS Little League BY KEVIN PAINCHAUD | PHOTO ESSAY Next month will mark the one-year anniversary that all sports have been shut down. From Major League Baseball, college sports and even Little League. With more and more vaccinations being given and more people following the strict mask policy and 6-foot social distancing, Santa Cruz County has been able to bring the infectious rate of the coronavirus down. The next couple of weeks will be crucial to see if Santa Cruz is able to bring our levels down far enough to allow team sports for schools to finally start. Until then, sports are having to make the shift to follow the California Department of Public Health guidelines for youth sports. This includes youth sports training, conditioning, and physical education. Following these guidelines, and hoping that Santa Cruz may finally move to the red tier, and allow team sports to play as normal, Santa Cruz Little League is open for sign-ups. According the Erik Comier, President of Aptos Little League, “In this Purple Tier, both the State of California and the Santa Cruz Public Health Department permit a baseball clinic to be conducted.
26 MARCH 2021 | Growing Up in Santa Cruz
A baseball clinic with a cohort team can include any and all baseball related training including throwing, catching, hitting, situational play and fun games while proper mitigation techniques are established. This includes social distancing, wearing a face covering, proper sanitizing among others. So today, we are permitted to coordinate a baseball clinic. We’re excited to see our kids out on the field again. This means that our kids will be allowed to once again small the scent of fresh cut grass, grip the baseball tightly, feeling the seems on their finger tips and hear the crack of the bat once again.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Aptos Little League, go here: AptosLL.org Santa Cruz Little League: LeagueAthletics.com Scotts Valley Little League: ScottsValleyLL.org Pajaro Valley Little League: PajaroValleyLittleLeague.com
