Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports  

The Clear Creek Amana softball team had waited long enough.

Concerns over the global coronavirus pandemic halted preseason workouts for the Clippers and other teams around the state, led to the cancellation of the spring sports season and put summer sports in jeopardy.

After being forced to wait along with the rest of the teams in the state for more than a month to learn if the once-suspended softball season would take place the members of the Clear Creek Amana team and first-year co-head coaches Jodie Scheetz and Ken Thimmesch decided they had waited long enough.

It was announced on May 20 that a shortened summer sports would take place with practices beginning June 1.

Clear Creek Amana had practice set for 8 a.m. on the June 1.

The Clippers couldn’t even wait that long, opting to take the field for the first time at 12:01 on Monday.

“We had a field clean up day this morning and we just threw it out there as an idea and they got really excited, they couldn’t wait to get started,” Scheetz said. “With everything that has been going on it felt fun for them and it will get them excited for our season.”

The start of the summer sports season was suspended indefinitely until the announcement earlier this month.

Baseball teams across Iowa also start practice on Monday with the first date of competition for both baseball and softball set for June 15. The state softball tournament is set to run July 27-31 in Fort Dodge with the baseball state tournament scheduled for July 27-August 1 at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Two weeks of practice is a shortened time period from a normal season and creating dilemmas for the most veteran of coach staffs.

For Scheetz and Thimmesch who are in the first season as co-head coaches at Clear Creek Amana a two-week preseason makes for an entirely different scenario.

“We’ve never been in this situation before so it’s going to be tough for everyone but us being first-year coaches that’s going to be very challenging for the kids getting to know us as coaches and learning our philosophy in that short time period,” Scheetz said. “That’s going to probably be our biggest challenge.”

With games looming a few weeks away there is plenty of work to be done but that’s wasn’t the reason Scheetz and Thimmesch opted for a midnight session to open the season.

The 12:01 start was all about fun. The work comes later Monday morning when the Clippers reassemble for their originally schedule first practice session at 8 a.m.

“We want to make it really fun for them,” Scheetz said. “The whole goal was to get out there and start having fun. Everyone has been kind of cooped up and away from each other so we wanted to get out there.”

Clear Creek Amana returns eight starters from a team that went 12-22 and was 7-18 in WAMAC play.

The Clippers are set to open the season on June 15 with a doubleheader at Vinton-Shellsburg at 6 p.m.

“I’ve been excited all day,” Scheetz said. “I can’t wait to get out there and just get going.”

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