It's coming time to sign up for Baseball and Soccer. After getting hosed last year(of our $120 soccer fee we got a discount of $20 on this years. Baseball was almost as bad) I am really hesitant to sign my son this year even though TN seems to be lightening restrictions up. Might do karate and continue our weekends of hiking and camping one more season.

What's it looking like where you live?

I wouldn't bet on anything before fall.

We had our first game of the Spring season today. Winter flag football finishing up playoffs today.

I can't wait for my grandson to get his fourth MVP award. No kidding but there's coaches asking my son to let my grandson play on their team. He is that good. Not to brag but the same thing was happening when he played soccer, coaches would come up to my son and ask if he could be on their team. He just turned 8.

I know talent even if I don't have any and I see a future in sports for my grandson, probably baseball as that's all he plays now. He hit his first grandslam over the fence on coach pitch last year.

Our youth league is signing up now. Details are still being hammered out and Covid protocols will be fluid. Hopefully our Governor will allow us to play ball.

my daughter's tennis academy is in a baseball complex. They had a fall season. The only protocol seems to be no handshakes with the opposition.

Played fall soccer with much less travel than normal, more repetitive local games. Expect same for spring.

(02-20-2021 11:45 AM)bobdizole Wrote:  It's coming time to sign up for Baseball and Soccer. After getting hosed last year(of our $120 soccer fee we got a discount of $20 on this years. Baseball was almost as bad) I am really hesitant to sign my son this year even though TN seems to be lightening restrictions up. Might do karate and continue our weekends of hiking and camping one more season.

What's it looking like where you live?

We played soccer for both boys all Fall, and my oldest had 4 college showcase events this winter.

Spring tournaments start up in march with the prestigious Jefferson Cup for both boys, followed by more club soccer for the youngest and HS soccer for the oldest.

It has been one thing that links us to pre-Covid days, and we are very appreciative for it.

Kinda surprised that they are holding the Jefferson Cup but I guess that is the difference between Richmond and Henrico.

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(02-21-2021 12:44 PM)fsquid Wrote:  Kinda surprised that they are holding the Jefferson Cup but I guess that is the difference between Richmond and Henrico.

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Last year, my little guy got his Jefferson Cup in because his then U13 team played in the first or second weekend. My HS sophomore at the time had his tourney cancelled. This year, my now U14 plays in two weeks and my now HS junior plays in late March in the college showcase.

Not just Henrico and Richmond, but playing sites include Chesterfield, Hanover, and all the way to Fredericksburg. This is a MASSIVE tournament, and the economic impact is huge. There are restrictions, but money talks, and this tournament is an economic goldmine for this region.

Squid,

From the Strikers website:

"The Tournament accepts over 1400 teams from around 36 States throughout the country.

In the past 4 Years, the Jefferson Cup turns down an average of over 500 teams per year.

In 2018, the Jefferson Cup Boys Showcase Weekend was ranked the #5 overall youth tournament and the #7 boys in the United States. The Jefferson Cup Boys Tournament Weekend was ranked the #2 overall youth tournament and the #3 boys in the United States.

In 2018, the Jefferson Cup Girls Showcase Weekend was ranked the #3 overall youth tournament and the #2 girls youth tournament in the United States. The Jefferson Cup Girls Tournament Weekend was ranked the #1 overall youth tournament and the #1 girls youth tournament in the United States.

In 2018 the Jefferson Cup weekends hold the #1, #2, #3 & #5 overall ranking in the country for all four weekends."


1400 teams. Let's say conservatively that 100 of those teams are drivable. That leaves 1300 teams needing food, hotels, etc., for a four weekend period of normally low tourist visitations. Add on the college coaches that come to recruit. Money talks. It is a terrific tourney. My little guy plays a National top-50 team in the round robin play. My older son has yet to see his brackets, but will assuredly be challenged. They both play for FC Richmond in the CCL, which allows them to play and travel together as the league model is for each club's elite teams to play another club's elite teams at the same time and location.

My son's school is having spring sports after having none last year. Baseball tryouts are in the gym since there's a foot of snow on the ground. Everyone still wearing their useless masks, though.

We made it through shortened football and basketball seasons with no problem... so I still don't know why they shortened them.

Played a whole season of travel baseball last summer with no problems too.

Son's school started on time in Jan. He doesn't wear a mask anymore. High School Baseball season started last week with no restrictions. Back to normal down here. Just have to wear a mask in Wal-Mart and casinos only. Restaurants are wide open as well as bars. Bar parking lots are full and folks are having to park at neighboring businesses. Had my son's HS baseball preseason banquet 2 weeks ago in the cafeteria with over 200 people present. Packed house. No masks. Like normal and no problems since.

Spring 2020 was a wash obviously, but his soccer team had a full season with local tournaments in the fall - just no travel.
This spring they're starting state league as well, and we have at least one OOT tournament in addition to those state league games.

The last two weeks we did a trial class at gymnastics for my daughter. Neither class required any sort of face diaper for her and other than one place checking her temperature, all was good. One place "encouraged" the parents watching to keep their face diapers on, but the other one had a viewing area with plenty of us there and no rules whatsoever.

She's too young for regular youth sports, but it still shows the prevailing attitude around my area.

Everyone knows the Chiflu would disappear as soon as the fake president was inaugurated. We were right.

(02-22-2021 01:32 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  Everyone knows the Chiflu would disappear as soon as the fake president was inaugurated. We were right.

They have to wind it down slowly enough to make it less obvious for the mass idiot population who believed the government to begin with. Plus, it's still a means of control and the government isn't willing to give that up easily. They still have a lot of leftist policies (more welfare, etc.) they want to push and using Kung Flu is a good way to do it.