Highland softball team tries to stay upbeat, ready during coronavirus shutdown

The holding pattern is still in place for southwestern Illinois softball teams.

Highland, like many other area programs, has been stuck in a month long shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has stricken the country.

For coaches such as Lady Bulldogs coach Glenn Nicholls, that action has left them with limited options to help their teams be ready if and when the 2020 spring softball season begins.

Illinois schools are closed until at least April 30 under orders from Governor J.B. Pritzker.

“That’s the thing (right now),” Nicholl said. “There’s not a whole lot I can do since we certainly can’t have any kind of organized practices ever since they shut it down. The players themselves have had to work out on their own and throw the ball around and things like that, but they can’t tell me (about it).”

Not being able to practice or hang out with teammates so far this spring has been a big challenge for players such as junior third baseman Sidney Parkerson, who has verbally committed to play softball to Truman State University in 2022. She was set to start at shortstop for the Lady Bulldog this season.

Having a season in limbo was the last thing she expected to have happen.

“Just (missing) getting to bond together and practice together because that’s like the whole part of the game,” Parkerson said. ”You have to work together to win and so if you can’t practice together, it’s kind of hard but hopefully everyone is working at home to keep up so we’re ready when the season starts again.”

To stay practice and game ready, Parkerson has been doing a variety of things on her own to keep her skills sharp.

“I get outside when it’s nice and throw almost every day and I hit three times a week and I have a batting cage in my basement so I can go down there as much as I can. And I do conditioning downstairs too,” she said.

Along with staying busy with school work online, Parkerson said the team recently found another good way to stay connected virtually by making a softball video where each player tapes themselves flipping a softball to each other.

“We are throwing a softball to each other (in the video) and connecting the videos so we’re tossing the ball around to each other and we were trying to make that so we can post it (online),” Parkerson said. “We thought it would be a fun thing to do. It’s hard being away from each other.”

Teachers providing videos, players keeping fingers crossed

Parkerson also teachers have been sending players videos about staying active.

“We just try to stay active so we don’t lose touch of anything and we just try to keep ourselves positive,” she said.

Fingers are crossed the Lady Bulldogs will have a softball season, and Parkerson said getting even an abbreviated campaign in after April would mean everything for her and the team.

“I would love that because I was actually going to start at shortstop this year hopefully and I really wanted to have a good year this year,” Parkerson said. “Last year it rained a lot, so we were hoping for a fresh start and this season I thought would be a really good season. It would be awesome if we could all get together again.”