First week of practice goes well in spite of guidelines to follow

HAMPTON – The first week of 2020 summer baseball and softball may look different, but it is still the same sport and skills the players have to master.

Hampton-Dumont/CAL head baseball coach Matt Lokenvitz said the first week under the Bulldogs’ belts went well.

“We have more things to do and guidelines to follow, so our practices look different, but we are still able to teach the skills needed. We are practicing in pods or groups of 8-10 so we can limit exposure as much as possible this first week.”

Lokenvitz has had the luxury of a majority of his players doing “off-season work” leading up to the governor’s, state association’s and school board’s decision to have the season, after all.

“I can tell that we had some of our players throwing and what-not on their own,” Lokenvitz said. “Nobody looks ‘out of shape’ and the biggest concern will be getting our pitcher’s arms conditioned in two weeks.”

Once the season begins on Monday, June 15, Lokenvitz expects to be busy.

“As of right now, we have 17 games from June 15 on so not much down time once we start playing,” he said. “We will have a nice blend of experienced upperclassmen and younger talented ball players.”

Late last week, the Department of Education director, Ann Lebo, said that players from the Top of Iowa West Conference teams Belmond-Klemme and Eagle Grove, as well as Iowa Star Conference team Meskwaki could allow players to compete for any team they wanted as long as the team allowed it and the athlete provided for his/her own transportation.

West Fork softball co-coach Mary Schulz, who is at the helm of the Warhawks with Sadie Winfrey have a huge lineup and when posed with the thought of bringing in any of those players, would have trouble bringing any more in.

“Both coach Winfrey and I have mixed emotions on this,” Schulz said. “We empathize with players from neighboring districts that don’t get the opportunity to play, but we also have 31 players from West Fork that have committed to our team to play this season and with all the social distancing guidelines, adding more players would make things more difficult.

“One other concern is adding people from another community that has a serious outbreak of the virus and potentially bringing that into our community. On the positive side, adding certain players could benefit our team and our season. It is such a tough decision to make. If those students decide to consider West Fork as an option, it will ultimately fall to our administration and school board (to make the final decision).”

West Fork head coach Tom Shreckengost deferred to administration for any thoughts on the situation.

According to Bulldog head softball coach Kelsey Enslin, the first day of practice was spent absorbing all of the details set in place for safety.

“The first week started off fairly challenging,” Enslin said. “The first practice was so focused on the safety measures and ensuring the girls understood what was expected and making sure the coaches were taking all measures we had been asked to take.

“However, after day one, things progressively improved as the week went! It started to feel more and more like a regular softball season. By the end of the week, things were feeling really good. The best part by far was having the chance to be with the girls again!”

Schulz said she is simply happy to get the chance to play, after all, when there were doubts after spring sports were canceled.

“We are very excited to be playing this season,” Schulz said. “We have several returning key players, including our pitcher, catcher, third base and several outfielders. We will need to replace our shortstop and first base, but we have some younger players that could easily step into those spots.

“Our defense in the past has always been a strong area for us, but we need improvement in our hitting and putting runs on the scoreboards to get some wins this season.”

Enslin said that she can say that her team will be ready to go come June 15.

“Early this week coach Larson and I are looking to solidify some positions that are open as a result of seniors graduating, moving other players around and a couple of players not going out this year.

“We have several girls working hard to earn a spot and coach Larson and I just need to work this week to make those decisions. There are several scenarios we are considering to be able to put the most complete team on the field come June 15.”

With that being said, Enslin’s expectations are high.

“The girls are excited and I think we can be competitive with any team we play this year,” Enslin said. “Our conference has some really talented teams returning that will be tough competition, but we are looking forward to the challenge. I also think June 15 will be a great night as we get to return to the diamond with a crowd for the first time. I am really looking forward to it!”