Two La Salle County Youth Football League members still hoping to play

One member of the La Salle County Youth Football League [LCYFL] decided last month it was going to cancel its season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The other two are at the line of scrimmage and ready to go, but have called some audibles on the upcoming 2020 fall season they hope they can play.

Both Streator Youth Football League and Ottawa Youth Football League are, for the time being, at least, planning on fielding teams and staging games, with practices beginning in early August and games scheduled to begin in late August.

"It's easier to plan for one and then cancel the season than rush to get one together," said SYFL's Aaron Dye.

Fellow LCYFL member La Salle-Peru Youth Football has canceled its 2020 season.

"The biggest thing with LPYFL is obviously the safety of the kids and everyone involved in it," said the league's President, Brian Currier. "The uncertain times we’re going through, there are too many what-ifs involved in it, and too many things we’d have to look after.

"We just didn’t feel we could put safety first in front of playing. There are just too many what-ifs involved."

Those what-ifs linger for the LCYFL members still playing. Questions such as:

Where can leagues play if school facilities are closed by the state?

What safety measures can reasonably be put into place while still maintaining the integrity of the game?

What will the schedule look like without roughly one-third of the teams?

And most importantly: Will the Illinois High School Association allow high school football to be played, and if not what will that mean for youth leagues?

"We’re basically planning to get everything into place: get all the board members present, meet every other week to make sure we’re up to date and following all the guidelines," Ottawa Youth Football League President Joe Boaz said. "We’re following the IHSA's guidelines for schools. If the IHSA cancels their season, I'd say we're in trouble. ...

“It’s still up in the air, but we're going ahead as if there’s going to be a season.”

The story is similar down Route 23.

"We are following IHSA guidelines," said Dye. "We’re not sure we’ll have a season yet. Everything depends on what happens with the IHSA. ...

"I would say if the high school kids don't play football, the youth kids probably don’t play football. Is that to say we won’t do some social distance camps or fundamental camps, something like that? I think we’d try to do that instead."

SYFL currently has in the neighborhood of 120 players signed up, just slightly down from normal. It — like OYFL, which is also down from its normal numbers but expecting the usual rush of late sign-ups — is still accepting registrations via its website for the next week and half or so.

Boaz believes if a football season is at all possible amid the pandemic, it is worth holding onto.

"My stance personally, and I believe us as a league, is the kids are sitting home playing video homes, not getting outside, not getting exercise, not playing with other kids. It’s not healthy for them," said Boaz.

"They need to get out and run around. They’re used to socializing, being with other kids. Not being in sports, not getting that? It’s not good nor healthy for them, especially with them having been out of school too.

"We're trying to push forward and get these kids out of the house and get them doing something."

LPYFL also held out for months before coming to a different decision ... but hopes its league rivals are able to have a safe and successful — if certain to be quite different — 2020 season if they do indeed play.

"To be honest with you, I’ve made a lot of hard decisions in my life. This is one that's ranked right up there with the hardest," Currier said.

"We obviously play with those two towns on a weekly basis every year. ... It’s one of those situations, they feel they can move forward, and I have no doubts they’re taking every precaution they can.

"I’m wishing them all the luck this season."