The signs say it all.
A photo collage posted online to the Langley Baseball Facebook page features 14 smiling Little League players, each holding hand-made signs with one word of a COVID-19 safety message.
“Stay home so we can get on the field and play ball,” the sentence reads.
It was the idea of Ian and Jennifer McEachern, parents of of nine-year-old Jackson, who loves to play Little League ball, and his younger sister Avery, who would have started playing this season, if it weren’t for the coronavirus crisis and the social distance requirements it has imposed.
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“She spent a lot of time watching her brother [play] and she wants to give it a shot,” Jennifer told the Langley Advance Times.
Almost every day, the siblings go outside to practice, but it’s not the same as regular season play, which was supposed to get underway in March.
The photo, inspired by a similar collage someone did in the states, was a bid to boost morale of the young players, Ian explained.
“We’re just trying to engage the kids, to keep them interested,”Ian said.
It was also an opportunity to reconnect with other parents, too.
“It’s tough not seeing those people,” Ian commented.
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On April 30th, Little League Canada canceled all regional tournaments.
At the same time, the league announced it was not cancelling baseball, softball, and challenger seasons.
It has, tentatively, said local Little League bodies could resume play after May 11, depending on the guidelines set by “local government and health officials in terms of public gatherings and sporting events.”
Who’s who in the photo:
First row (top left to right)
Jackson McEachern, Jeremiah Blackman, Zack Worsley
Second row
Jackson and Daniel Collins, Nicholas Fillion, Taysen and Dez Hernandez
Third row
Taiya Jones, Tyler Lord, Jack Johnson
Fourth row
Joey Johnson, Julian Slogocki, Jordan Lord
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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