Concerns over COVID-19 have started to impact the Valley Soccer Club. The organization has canceled its Spring intramural season, according to club President Kyle Fisher.

"Losing the season is a big hit to the Valley Soccer family," he said Sunday night.

            Fisher described the status of the spring travel season as tenuous at best. He said the club is waiting to hear back from the East Penn Youth Soccer Association, which controls virtually all of youth soccer in the eastern portion of Pennsylvania.

            "At this point, they just keep pushing [the start date] back," Fisher wrote in an email message.

            Club officials made the decision to cancel its intramural season – which normally serves approximately 350 and 380 boys and girls between the ages of three and 15 – two weeks ago after conferring with similar organizations in Harleysville and Boyertown, according to Fisher. He said it wasn't an easy one.

            "We waited until, what we thought was, the last moment," Fisher said, adding that the club wanted to present a united front with the two neighboring organizations.

            Valley offered a full refund to all of its participating families, according to Fisher. The club asked those who were able to contribute the fees back to the organization to help maintain its fields. He said between 15 and 20 families allowed the club to keep between $1,000 and $1,500.

            "It's incredibly generous," Fisher said.

            The club's summer travel program remains in limbo. Fisher said he is "hoping beyond hope" that conditions would allow for an abbreviated summer season that might start in June or July. Tryouts for the PA Dominion FC, the organization's elite level team for boys and girls aged 13 and older, are scheduled for May 1-3 at Upper Perkiomen High School, according to information posted on its website.

            "I would think we'd be very lucky to get any kind of travel season in this summer," Fisher said. "At this point I would be thrilled if they were able to play in the fall."

            According to Fisher, club officials continue to plan for a fall intramural season. However, he said the organization would only allow play to resume if the health and safety of its participants could be assured.

            The club, which recently celebrated its 40^th anniversary, would be able to withstand the financial disruption of no soccer in the spring or the fall in terms of the finances and community interest, according to Fisher.

            "It would be a hit," he said. "But we could survive it. People aren't going to forget about us. Soccer in the Valley is here to stay."

            Youth Flag Football, organized by the Upper Perkiomen Youth Indians, is scheduled to start next month. The program has not been canceled, but "things do not look good," according to program President Jeff Roush.

            "We're in standby mode," he said.

            According to Roush, between 80 and 90 boys and girls -- aged seven to 16 – have signed up to participate in games on the grass fields at Upper Perkiomen High School. He said the organization's fall flag football program is "up in the air."

            Plans for the Upper Perkiomen Girls Softball League remain static, according to President Carlie Bearn. She said local league officials are meeting with representatives from the East Penn Girls Softball League this week.

            "We're still hoping and waiting," Bearn said Sunday.

            The status of the 60^th season of the Upper Perkiomen Youth Baseball hasn't changed, according to President Paul Verna.