Page 10 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 3, 2020 There’s no summer without Little League baseball By Steve Freker Y outh sports quickly became an afterthought due to cancellations of seasons from professional sports— all the way down the line due to the coronavirus pandemic that began four months ago. Baseball took the biggest hit in Malden and surrounding communities since its Youth Baseball/Little League season for players ages 5-12 generally begins in late April and the Malden Babe Ruth League (ages 1315) traditionally begins around Mother's Day in May, With the on-again, off-again nature of the announcement of what is and is not allowed, it has been difficult to track what would eventually happen to the seasons. Until the past 7-10 days, it appeared that it might not be possible for any youth baseball to move forward in Malden. Fortunately for the lovers of America's pastime, those that coordinate the two leagues, with the help of others in the community, stepped up and used some faith and hard work to put together some form of baseball for the Youth Baseball/ NMT | FROM PAGE 9 ject to change depending on how the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. The guidelines were developed by DESE’s Return-to-School Working Group, along with experts from the fields of infectious diseases and public health. Approximately $200 million from the Commonwealth’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund is available to help with the costs of reopening public schools. Schools are eligible to receive up to $225 per student for eligible costs incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, such as training for school staff, supplemental social and academic services, reconfiguration of school spaces, leasing of temporary facilities and acquisition of health and hygiene supplies. Other potential funding sources to support school reopening include $502 million from the Coronavirus Relief 2019 Malden Youth Baseball Majors Champions Pirates Little League and Babe Ruth age groups. Deano Summers, Field Director for Malden Babe Ruth, put together a plan whereby a shortened, five-week season would begin late next week, running from about July 10 through the first week of August. Fund that had previously been allocated by Gov. Baker to cities and towns, as well as $194 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grants. In partnership with legislative leadership, the state has also committed $25 million in federal funds for a matching grant program to help school districts and charter schools close technology gaps that have inhibited remote learning for students and families who lack access to computers or internet connections. Specific state funding for each district will be determined at a later date. The statewide closure of school buildings began in mid-March and was extended through the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year as an unprecedented step in limiting the potential spread of COVID-19 and continuing the practice of social distancing as more positive cases and deaths are announced in the state. It is all contingent, of course, on the guidance of Governor Charlie Baker and the city of Malden, if the decision is indeed made to advance to Phase 3, which would allow games to be played on sports fields, including those in Malden. An announcement regarding Massachusetts' progress and if Phase 3 would soon begin is expected either way on Monday, July 6. Likewise, officials at Malden Youth Baseball have devised a similar plan, calling for eight teams at two, fourteam levels, to be formed and play a shortened season, much along the same time frame. Again, it is contingent on guidance from the state and local authorities. "We really wanted to have some form of a baseball season this summer," Summers, involved with Malden Babe Ruth over 30 years as a coach and now an administrator. "If there was a whole season without baseball, I don't want to think about what the consequences would have been." Summers is also involved with the Youth Baseball level in Malden. "A lot of those families want to have baseball this summer. That's a great sign and we all worked together to make something happen." Summers added another great reason why the work was done to salvage a season for Malden Babe Ruth this season. "We had to do it for Bob Rotondi also. He's been it over 60 years around here, how could he go through a summer without baseball?" Summer said with a chuckle. 2019 Malden Babe Ruth Champion Knights Nearly 200 Malden residents achieve honors at MVRCS he following Malden residents received honors or high honors at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School for the fourth quarter of the 2019-2020 academic year. To be on the Honor Roll, a student needs to finish the quarter with no grade lower than a B-. To be on the High Honor Roll, a student needs to finish the quarter with no grade lower than an A-. T High Honor Roll Grade 12: Maya Broomes, Saige Brutus, Danielle Downie, Sarah Lin, Natalie LoRusso, Jason Luu, Aiya Masoud, Arianna McDonough, Donald Nguyen, Quynh-An Vo. Grade 11: Sidra Alani, Sofia Augeri, Connor Cargill, Angelina Cassuci, Vanessa Cenat, Jeffrey Chan, Siminatha Chan, Kelly Chen, Jennifer Cheung, Jaime Cochran, Abigail Daly, Nicole Deguire, Katherine Gately, Kara Hollis, Tracy Lam, John Le, Jessica Li, Nathan Nguyen, Amine Rih, Taylor Rong, Fares Seghir, Daniel Tran, Ashley Verrill, Rebecca Verrill, Alaa Zeabi. Grade 10: Allen Bulic, Olivia Correia, Myles Goodreau, Gianna Gray, Adam Housni, Alina Hudson, Rintaro Inomata, Marwa Mihi, Julia Nguyen, Dhyey Patel, Son Tran, Amora Velic. Grade 9: Asal Bahrampouri, Natalia Cabellero, Andy Chen, Jasmine Chen, Ryan Chen, Isabella Chu, Isabella Elmoussaoui, Alexandria Manseau, Daniel Nguyen, Matthew Nguyen, Amy Pham, Mariam Seghir, Eric Wang. Grade 8: Aayan Ahmed, Rim Badaoui, Jonathan Brandano, Ashley Cenat, Ashley Cohen, Amelia Daly, Lukas Deguire, Nora Fatimi, Ryan Hartnett, Sarah Henry, Makda Johannes, Miriam Johannes, Benjamin Lagasse, Gabriella LaJoie, Insaaf Machouk, Tabitha Manseau, Tayla McDonough, Coralie Mondesir, Evan Montrose, Breana Nansamba, Angelica Nocera, Rachel Nortelus, Sophia Nylin, Ameya Panchal, MVRCS | SEE PAGE 17
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