Mahomet Parks and Recreation cancels 2020 baseball, softball, t-ball and adult league

The Mahomet Parks and Recreation Department have canceled spring sports, including baseball, softball, t-ball and adult leagues in the upcoming months.

“This is obviously all the hardest we’ve ever made,” MPRD Director Dan Waldinger said. “And it was obviously like we really have been thinking about it since the initial order came out as we started thinking about contingencies for the season.”

With nearly 700 young athletes signed up for spring baseball, one of MPRD’s most popular programs, the organization was hopeful that by April 30 restrictions related to COVID-19 would be relaxed. Staff had worked on two or three contingency plans as they awaited updates.

Waldinger said by the beginning of May, teams typically had a practice or two in as they prepared for games that began in mid-May. If they could get the practice in, MPRD would have pushed the season back with games in June and July. 

When Gov. JB Pritzker extended Illinois’ stay-at-home order to May 30, MPRD knew it was time to make additional adjustments.

Alongside instability associated with the future of group gathers, Waldinger looked at the health risks associated with getting people together and was cognizant of summer plans that may overlap with pushing back games.

Waldinger added that should the stay-at-home order be lifted in June, or sooner, it is unlikely that “normal” will look like the normal Americans knew prior to March 12.

With 400 individuals at some locations for spring sports, Waldinger thought it would be unlikely that groups that large would be allowed any time soon. 

Pushing the spring sport season forward anymore would also overlap with soccer, also.

“We just don’t have the staff to run two programs,” Waldinger said. “Also, in our town you participate in all of it when you’re little.

“We really thought it through and it just wasn’t meant to be this season,” Waldinger said. “The safety of our families really this comes first; we want people to be healthy and and safe so they can come back and play in the future.”

Parents and sponsors were notified of the decision earlier this week. MPRD is giving them until next Friday to decide if they would like to make a donation to the organization, use their fee without additional fees for the 2021 spring season or if they would like a refund.

“We understand people are struggling, some more than others, and they may need that money to pay a bill,” Waldinger said. “So of course we’re going to refund it to whoever wants it.”

He added that MPRD is able to pivot plans easily because of their size. Knowing this, Waldinger said that if restrictions are lifted in the future, camps or workshops focused on specific skills could become available for youth in the upcoming months.

While spring sports are a huge revenue source for the Mahomet Parks and Recreation Department, Waldinger said that sponsorships and registration cover the cost of each program, rather than being a money maker. Under the umbrella of the Village of Mahomet, MPRD is a non-profit organization.

“The loss of revenue that we do have is the revenue that supports the indirect things like staff wages, the things that you don’t see on the baseball diamond,” Waldinger said.

Parks and Rec staff, some working at the office while others work at home, are still working with the department, but teenagers, who generally run concessions, were not hired.

Even though MPRD had to cancel their spring sport season, Waldinger said that this is the time for parks to come through on their end of the deal.

“The parks have never been more important in my opinion,” he said. “I know I am hugely biased, and I’ve always preached the benefits of parks, but man this is our time to shine. We are really trying to send our message that parks benefit your health. And that’s something that we’ve preached but now we have an avenue to really spotlight it.”

The Village of Mahomet supports outdoor spaces at Barber Park, Bridle Leash Park, Brent Johnson Park, Brooks Warfel Park, Russell Park and Taylor Park while also managing 13 Acres Park, which is owned by the Mahomet-Seymour School District. 

According to the National Recreation and Park Association, “Use of green spaces is associated with decreased health complaints, improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduced stress, improved general health perceptions and a greater ability to face problems,” among other benefits. 

Waldinger said access to green space in Mahomet will help those who are anxious or worried.

“Take a walk in a park, and you’ll feel better,” he said. “I mean, you don’t have to be a scientist to figure that out. Our parks have never been busier.”

To keep up with the demand, MPRD has hired one person to keep up with the mowing while moving some full-time employees, including Waldinger, to park management.

Waldinger said the focus on outdoor spaces has allowed the team attend to spaces earlier in the year.

“We’re going to start mulching around every tree in every park, which we do, but we never do it all at once,” Waldinger said. “We’re trying to take advantage of this time to do things that we always wanted to do. But we can’t because we’re overwhelmed with so many other things.”

Playgrounds, basketball courts and baseball fields continue to be closed, but Waldinger suggests that Mahomet residents visit the parks, adhering to social distancing guidelines provided by the state. 

“Social distance, six or more feet away from everybody else, which you can do at any park very easily; wear a mask like the government says when you can’t maintain that distance, you need to wear a mask. The other thing is just avoid touching common surfaces like trash cans. You can throw your trash without touching it,” Waldinger said.

As for fall sports, Waldinger said it’s wait-and-see at this point, but MPRD will move forward with plans, including collecting registrations by June 23. 

Summer activities, such as Touch-a-Truck, British Soccer Camp and Summer Concerts are a little more iffy, but Waldinger was not ready to make a final decision on those events, seeing as, if needed, they could be pushed back later into the summer.

While programming has not been in-person over the last six weeks, MPRD reached out to their adult fitness instructors and local sport coaches to provide virtual content in an attempt to educate and keep community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are here to serve the community and this is the best time to do it while people are feeling like this,” Waldinger said. “So, I challenged (my staff) to really be creative, on how can we do that in this environment.”

MPRD posts videos from local coaches each Tuesday.

“It’s a great literally,” Waldinger said. “There’s kids at home with parents that really don’t know; they want them to be active, but they’re not sure what that means in terms of practice at home.Just watch those videos, those coaches are awesome. And they really put a lot of thought into that.”

Waldinger has been equally impressed with MPRD fitness instructors who are hosting their courses online.

“They are super creative by nature and super energetic,” he said. “That’s in their game.”

Looking ahead, Waldinger said he can see MPRD hosting both in-person and online courses, even as the new “normal” is established.

“People like that form of delivery, and some may be more than even coming in-person,” he said.

But seeing their constituents in-person right before Easter was the boost that MPRD needed. The organization traveled around Mahomet with the Easter bunny as more than 1,000 kids came out of their homes to wave.

“We try to use our creative side to try to think of any way we can connect to this community and help them get through this,” Waldinger said. “We’re hopeful we’ll come up with some more stuff before this is over.”

While spring sports were canceled, and the immediate future of MPRD programming is questionable, Waldinger said that he knows that the Mahomet community will rally around opportunity.

“Our community really loves events and programs and recreation,” Waldinger said.

“That’s why people live here, so they’re not gonna let these things go away forever. There might be a temporary halt, but we’ll be back stronger and bigger and better.”