T-R FILE PHOTO - The Marshalltown Little League’s season is in limbo as definitive answers about youth sports in Iowa are sought.

This was not what Corey Schoenfelder had in mind when he took up the reins as president of the Marshalltown Little League.

As a father of three active boys, Schoenfelder has put in his time as a volunteer coach in Marshalltown’s various sports offerings, and now he’s taken on the commitment to help operate the youth baseball organization.

What an endeavor that has turned out to be.

The coronavirus pandemic has cleared the sports calendar from one end of the spectrum to the other, but the incremental re-opening of the state’s businesses has offered a glimmer of hope for the return to a new normal. Schoenfelder has looked to leaders at various levels for insight, information and guidance as to what move to make next, but the only ironclad answer he’s found thus far is patience.

“It’s kind of like everything,” he said, “it’s just wait and see one week to the next. See if anything else comes out.

“Nobody wants to be the first and take that heat, and I don’t want to be the first if it’s not safe. This all depends on the safety of the kids, and it depends on who you listen to.”

Schoenfelder has tuned into Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ daily press briefings in hopes of hearing a definitive answer on whether or not Iowa high school sports will get the go-ahead anytime soon, but he doesn’t expect such an announcement until the beginning of June.

And even if Gov. Reynolds gives Iowa’s summer sports the green light, he realizes there’s no guarantee that the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union proceed. There is no playbook for a pandemic, and Schoenfelder recognizes that.

“Especially for my first time through this has been anything but normal,” he said. “You want to ask anybody but nobody can tell you how to do this.”

Schoenfelder hasn’t set an ironclad timeline because of the continually changing landscape of health and safety concerns, especially those in the fifth-most infected county in the state. Marshall County had reported 759 patients testing positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Iowa Public Health Department’s website. More than 47 percent of those individuals are reported to have recovered (358), but Marshall County has experienced five deaths as a result of the coronavirus, including a former slowpitch softball acquaintance of Schoenfelder’s — Kyle Brown.

“If they keep pushing the peak [number of virus cases in Iowa] back, we keep having to wait and see the numbers go down,” he said. “But we’re not seeing the numbers go down, meanwhile you also have counties where there’s two or three cases in the whole county. As of right now we’re still hoping maybe we could get in a 6-to-8 week season if we start mid-June, but right now there are no clear-cut answers.

“Some of the little league districts we’re in with — some have been hit very hard and some aren’t. When you’re dealing with little league teams from 27 different municipalities and the local government, it’s all going to be a little bit different.

“There’s all these questions about what should or shouldn’t be done, and nobody has any answers yet. Hopefully we’re going to be able as a community to keep this thing going and keep it together.”

Schoenfelder has also looked to the national Little League organization for guidance, even though the Little League World Series and its regional tournaments were canceled as of April 30. The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) has been another source for Schoenfelder, but again it’s merely for guidance.

It’s all a gray area for everyone.

“I don’t know if Governor Reynolds is going to come out with anything specific for youth sports or not,” he said, “so I’m basing my decision on whether we’re still waiting until June because I think we can still get a pretty decent season in if we start mid-June. It might go into football season but we’ll deal with that if it comes to that.”

Meanwhile, Schoenfelder will continue to maintain the fields while juggling a handful of expenses without incoming funds.

“Grass doesn’t stop growing,” he said. “We’ll wait and see what happens here in the next 3-4 weeks. If we get into June and get to the point we haven’t started practice, we may get to the point we’ll just have to cancel the season. It’s about safety for everybody.

“I think everybody has to realize there’s not definitive answers and we’re trying to do everything safely. Hopefully I’ll get a hard list of things they want us to do and not do, but until then we’ll keep rolling with the punches and take it day-by-day, week-by-week.”