Sports fans have been without any games to watch since mid-March. Unfortunately, as May hits full stride, the only game in town is still the waiting game.

Local sports organizations admit that, until Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order is lifted, it is nearly impossible to plan too far ahead. And as the days continue to pass by, the prospect of holding spring and even summer sports grows increasingly uncertain.

As Northeast Little League (NELL) President Nick Kroll noted, at some point it becomes prudent to just throw in the towel.

"We've kind of posed June 1 as sort of a drop-dead cutoff (for starting a season)," Kroll said, adding that he doesn't wish to have a Little League season extend so far into summer as to infringe on families' vacation time.

"If we're still juggling stuff by the end of May, we're probably just going to (cancel the season)," he said. "We would want to give our members a full product, and if we can start by the end of May or June 1, we could run out a full regular season and still allow people to have a little time off before football starts."

Kroll said earlier this week that NELL had tentative plans to start practicing on its fields around May 18. Now, following the extension of Whitmer's stay-at-home order -- which includes a prohibition on gathering in public places, including sports practices and games -- through at least May 28, the possibility of getting in a full Little League regular season seems less likely than it did only a few days ago.

"We're sort of at the mercy of what the government says," Kroll admitted. " ... I want to play baseball, and a lot of the kids do, too, but we're not going to supersede any kind of guidance (from the state and local governments)."

Kroll said he has been receiving regular updates from Karen Murphy, director of public services for the City of Midland, on how to proceed.

Kutchey Landscaping's Nate Schultz takes a swing during the June 17, 2019 major city championship game.(Daily News file photo)

Kutchey Landscaping's Nate Schultz takes a swing during the June 17, 2019 major city championship game.(Daily News file photo)

Kutchey Landscaping's Nate Schultz takes a swing during the June 17, 2019 major city championship game.(Daily News file photo)

Kutchey Landscaping's Nate Schultz takes a swing during the June 17, 2019 major city championship game.(Daily News file photo)

Little League, city softball, others still in holding pattern

"It's really contingent on what Karen says and what the governor says," Kroll noted. "My guidance, right now, is coming from Karen. With our fields right in the heart of a city park, we're going to abide by what she says."

Murphy, likewise, said that her hands are pretty much tied when it comes to giving Little League the OK to start practicing or playing.

"The city is following directions from the governor. We're watching the executive orders closely, and we will follow whatever lead we get from there," she said. " ... We really don't have any plan as of yet. We're following whatever the governor's executive orders say. She has supported outdoor recreation as long as people practice social distancing, but as far as a full-phased approach (to starting team sports), we're not quite there yet.

"We're just getting our direction from Lansing and seeing what we'll be able to do," she added. "The social distancing will be a key piece. I think it'll be difficult to social distance if you're participating in a team sport."

Dan Reimer, president of Fraternal Northwest Little League, pointed out that the 2020 Little League World Series and state tournaments have already been cancelled, although he, like Kroll, hopes eventually to have some sort of regular season, even if on a casual level.

"We may end up doing a sandlot type of season with a relaxed atmosphere just to get the kids on the field. We'd still have uniforms and umpires, but it would be more relaxed, kind of like an instructional league just to give the kids some fun and get them out of the house," Reimer said, while adding, " ... But they might say we're stuck (having to social distance) until August, and we'll have to follow whatever we're told."

Like Kroll and Murphy, Reimer said that Fraternal Northwest can really do nothing but wait and see what transpires next.

"I'm just waiting for direction from Little League International and our district board of directors. I'm going to follow their lead," he said. " ... I really don't have any answers. We just have to wait and see what Little League wants to do.

"If they say go ahead and do a modified season in July or August, we'll gauge the level of interest and go from there," he added. "If we have enough kids who want to play ball, we'll definitely look into a modified season."

Meanwhile, Marcie Post, recreation manager for the City of Midland's Parks and Recreation Department, said she wants to be "optimistic" about the possibility of beginning city-run outdoor activities this summer, including adult and girls' softball leagues, beach volleyball, swimming at Plymouth Pool, and Tunes by the Tridge, among many others.

"We've got people who are ready to play beach volleyball and softball," Post continued. "People are still optimistic, because they keep (signing up their teams). Our rec department is really optimistic about it."

But, again, it all comes down to what the state government will and will not allow. Post said she is hopeful that the governor will soon offer guidance regarding outdoor recreation for the summer.

"We haven't made any decision at all (about summer recreational activities)," Post said. "We're waiting for guidance from the governor. ... We'll wait and see what the governor says, and we'll start making recommendations based on that.

"Summer in Michigan doesn't last forever," she added. "We need to start making a decision on these sorts of things."

In the meantime, Post said that the Michigan Recreation and Park Association, also known as MParks, has been a good resource for sharing ideas.

"The great thing is we have a strong connection with MParks, so we're in contact with other municipalities in Michigan," Post said. "We're looking at each other's opening plans, and we're trying to get our facilities open safely for our communities."

Plymouth Pool, which is operated by the city, was originally scheduled to open on Saturday, June 13, but Post said that date is now up in the air, as is the time when Kiwassee Lake at Stratford Woods Park might be opened for swimming.

The Midland Softball Association (MSA) has extended its deadlines for team registration to May 22 for slowpitch and to May 27 for fastpitch and modified pitch.

MSA President Steve Warner posted a long letter on the MSA's Facebook page on Thursday, part of which read:

"Softball without high-fives amongst teammates, without the base coaches' congratulatory fist bump, without good-game lines at the end of the game, and without ... the enthusiastic guy or girl greeting the defense coming off the field just doesn't feel like softball, but it may be our new normal. So, rest assured, while the world tries to navigate living and operating in this manner, we will do what is in the best interest of our members and with the right guidance from the national and state governments and governing bodies."

Post is hopeful about the prospects for the weekly Walk Midland program, which involves free weekly two-mile walks with other members of the community. They are scheduled to take place from June 1 through mid-July.

"I think we have found a way to socially distance that (program), as long as the governor's orders (allow the program to proceed)," Post said. "I feel like that's a really important one to get going because of the emphasis on health and wellness right now."

In terms of the City of Midland parks, Post said that all parks are still open, but the playground equipment remains off limits due to the risk of the coronavirus spreading through that equipment. She said that is the case with many playgrounds around the state and around the country.

With construction now allowed to resume in Michigan as of Thursday, Post said work should begin by mid-May on two city park projects: new outdoor pickleball courts in Central Park near the Greater Midland Community Center, and an extensive renovation of Grove Park, which the Midland Rotary Club is helping to sponsor.

Construction of a $1.6 million Miracle Field in Central Park is also expected to begin soon. It will be a fully accessible soft-surface baseball field for athletes of all ages with physical and cognitive disabilities. The original plan was for the first game to be played there in September.

Although the bulk of their seasons are played during the summer and not in the spring, American Legion Baseball programs and travel softball and baseball programs are also starting to feel the time crunch, as Whitmer's stay-at-home order continues to keep teams from practicing together.

With the American Legion postseason, including playoffs at the zone, state, regional, and national levels, already cancelled, Berryhill Post 165 manager Steve Cronkright said he would still like to see at least a more relaxed, modified version of a baseball season implemented, similar to what Reimer has suggested for Little League players.

"We're probably not going to be able to do anything until mid-summer. Some of the ideas we've had include having each high school (in the immediate area) have their own teams, and we (Berryhill) would supply the umpires and groundskeepers. That way, we'd at least get some ballgames in," Cronkright said. " ... But it's so up in the air right now. We don't know yet if we can even get together."

Cronkright didn't rule out the possibility of Berryhill playing in some or all of its scheduled tournaments, including the annual Gabby Mills Fourth of July Invitational, which Post 165 hosts every year.

"It depends on when we can get together. If we can get a couple of weeks of practices in -- and we've already paid for the tournaments -- then we'd like to (play the tournaments)," he noted. " ... The way it sounds, it may be close to mid-July before we can do stuff like that. But in the last couple of days, things have changed a lot, so you never know."

On the travel softball front, Midland Line Drive Express President Doug Hill indicated in an email to the Daily News that his organization is still planning to host four big tournaments at Redcoats Softball Complex in the weeks ahead: the NSA Spring Slam either May 23-24 or May 30-31, which would draw over 20 teams; an NSA 12U Class A and B state tournament June 19-21, which would draw over 40 teams; an NSA 14U Class B state tournament June 26-28, which would draw over 45 teams; and the annual Line Drive Grand Slam tournament July 10-12, which would draw over 70 teams.

Hill did not indicate whether or not the Line Drive organization intends to send teams to tournaments in other parts of the state.

For his part, Midland Lady Explorers President Charles Keeley said that his organization plans on participating in tournaments this summer, although there is some hesitance among players and parents about traveling to certain parts of the state which have been hard-hit by the coronavirus.

"Overwhelmingly, the girls and parents want to play ball, but there is some concern with traveling downstate to some of the areas that have been impacted more severely than the Tri-Cities area," Keeley said, noting that the Lady Explorers organization has already had seven early-season tournaments cancelled and will lose another six tournaments in May.

" ... For the remainder of the season, we are planning on playing in our regularly-scheduled tournaments, and there is going to be an extension of the season with tournaments being added in late July and August to make up for the early-season tournaments that were cancelled," he added.

Keeley said that Lady Explorers is keeping a close eye on what is transpiring around the state in regard to the coronavirus and that his organization has a few other events in the works.

"There has been discussion about playing some local scrimmages with other local travel softball organizations. We're also planning a Rise Softball Showcase event with (former U.S. National Team catcher) Jeff Nowaczyk in June to create player profiles and recruiting videos for our girls who are looking to play at the next level," Keeley said.

"Overall, we are very optimistic that we'll be playing ball this summer," he added.

"We just are not 100-percent sure what that will look like yet."

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Little League, city softball, others still in holding pattern - Midland Daily News