With the Center for Disease Control recommending limited gatherings of 10 people, area high school softball programs could not practice or even warm up in a group setting.
So they did the next best thing by setting up a virtual game of catch.
Last week, Canterbury spliced together video footage of each player tossing a softball to a teammate. They were not stuck at home. They were safe there. It was social distancing at its best.
Three days after that video went out on social media, East Lake did one of their own. They were in their kitchens, living rooms, garages, some even headed to the beach,
Shelby Wright, a junior, came up with the idea. Teammates were taped cooking, reading or watching siblings when a softball suddenly appeared from the side of the screen. They each caught the ball then tossed to someone else.
Others resorted to physical activity to stay in shape and maintain cohesiveness. The Windermere Wildfire Paulson 18-under, a travel softball team that includes a few area players, started a jump rope challenge. George Paulson, the program’s founder, wanted his players to jump rope two minutes a day for 15 straight days. The challenge was set to end on April 15, the initial date students were scheduled to return to classrooms. The Florida Department of Education has since extended school closings until May 1.
Those not taking part in team challenges have been working out on their own.
