Coaching Through COVID-19 (Blog Post #4)

July 21, 2020 Coaching Through COVID-19 (Blog Post #4)

Once professional sporting leagues suspended their seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was only a matter of time before local youth sporting leagues followed.  A summer without community sports is something coaches and players could never have imagined.  For some of these players, local community leagues are the only opportunity they will ever have of playing organized sports in their city.

It is no secret that Black and Hispanic youth have less of a chance to join their school teams.  Primary reason being— those teams don’t exist!  A 2016 class action lawsuit against the Department of Education (DOE) and the Public-School Athletic League (PSAL), spoke directly to the lack of funding and access Black and Hispanic youth have to high school sports.  The lawsuit was filed by the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which lead to the formation of advocacy groups like the Fair Play Coalition to continue addressing the disparities that exist within New York City’s public-school sports programs.

Community-based organizations provide an alternative platform for those marginalized youth to engage in organized sports.  Not only do the youth look forward to summer leagues, but parents find refuge in signing their children up for local sports during the loud summer months of neighborhood violence and constant police sirens lighting the night.

Maritza Mejia, a dedicated coach and community organizer, found an outlet through softball for her daughter in G-PlaHers, an all-girls softball league in the Bronx.  Coach Mari focuses on teaching the sport to teenage girls like how to properly field a ground-ball, in addition to offering the guidance and support many of the inner-city youth lack.  Without summer sports, there is a genuine concern as to where will the youth turn to fill the void of comradery.

As a dedicated resident of the Bronx, Coach Mari can testify to the scarcity of sports programming available to her community.  Although there’s mounting evidence supporting the health and social development benefits of sports, the Bronx continues to rank last (62) in the annual health report by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Coach Mari voiced her concerns about the uncertainty revolving around this year’s summer season, “I don’t know what we are going to do now.  We had our entire summer planned and we were hoping to win another championship at the end of the season.”

As a committed coach of girls’ softball for 8 years, Coach Mari believes the players will suffer the most, if the summer season of 2020 is canceled.  “These girls look forward to playing the game, and a lot of them only have softball to keep them busy.  I’m worried that they will get into trouble in the streets this summer if they aren’t on the field being productive.”

Coach Mari has been thinking of creative ways to engage her team during the pandemic to make sure they remain on track and committed to the sport.  “I speak to them every day in our group chat and send them messages of encouragement because we can all use a little inspiration during these tough times.”

Coach Mari coaches a group of girls aging between 14 through 18 years old.  She has found a passion in teaching the game of softball to young girls in the Bronx and loves finding ways to mix in real life lessons with every drill.  Throughout the years, Maritza has mentored players who have been going through a variety of issues including family matters, domestic violence, and bullying.  She finds a great deal of fulfillment in providing young women with the guidance she feels many teenagers are lacking in the Bronx.  “I just want to help them see their true potential.  If they aren’t hearing it from anywhere else, they will hear it from me.”

Coach Mari has quickly become one of the favorites in the league she coaches because of her tough character but loving soul.  Her starting catcher, Mara, agree, “She’s tough, but if we want to win on the field, we need that kind of discipline.”

As the pandemic continues to grasp a tight hold on New York City, Coach Mari looks forward to the future when her team gets their chance to defend their softball championship title.