Mauston, Wis. - Even though high school, collegiate and minor league professional baseball was canceled due to the COVID-19 public health threat, a pair of former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse baseball players have kept the game going during the summer.
 
Former Eagles' Trevor Burmeister and Seth Feldman put together Woodside Sandlot at the Wisconsin Dells Woodside Complex in Mauston.  "A lot of guys don't have the chance to play games right now, so this give them the opportunity to compete in a more relaxed environment," says Feldman.  It's not just games for the players as some come to the field a couple of hours early to get extra work either offensively or defensively.
 
"It's a very laid back environment," says Feldman.  "Trevor and I are there to help out as much as the players want us to.  We don't want to push anything on them, especially when you consider that these players are all at different programs and their coaches all have different philosophies."  
 
Burmeister says the idea of putting it together came after so many high school and college players had their summer seasons canceled due to COVID-19.  "Seth and I wanted to give these guys an opportunity to maintain their skills and get live reps so they could feel prepared going into their college seasons in the fall."
 
"The players have done a great job of taking this thing and making the most of it," adds Feldman.  "They're the ones who are in control of the work we do each week and the ownership that they have taken to this point has been great."   
 
Feldman earned his bachelor's degree in sport management from UWL in 2016.  A native of Platteville, Wisconsin, he earned four letters for the Eagles while serving as a catcher.  Feldman hit .327 in 2016 and was named to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Sportsmanship Team.  After finishing his playing career, Feldman served as an assistant coach for UWL during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
 

He was named the manager of the Minnesota Twins Dominican Summer League team in 2019.  "To this point, a lot of my daily routine includes zoom meetings and phone calls with coaches and players," says Feldman.  "Our main priority is to continue to connect with everyone and build stronger relations during this time, even if it has to be from a distance."
 
Approximately 18 to 20 position players and six to seven pitchers come each week to the Woodside complex representing high school, collegiate and professional levels.  The day of getting together is dependent on when the most pitching can make the trip to Mauston.  "We try to squeeze in as much as we can that one day a week," says Burmeister.
 
Most of the players are from Wisconsin, but some have come up from Illinois.  "The high school kids are some of the more talented around the state while the college guys range from Division to Junior College," says Burmeister.  He notes professional players mix in randomly, including former UWL All-America pitcher Caleb Boushley, who is currently in the San Diego Padres organization.
 
"It's always a good experience for the guys when they can hit off a professional pitcher," adds Burmeister.  "And it's good for Caleb to have a setting to get his work in."
 
A native of Black Earth, Wisconsin, Burmeister earned a pair of letters at UWL as an outfielder.  After earning two letters at Madison College (Wis.), Burmeister started 78 of 79 career games at UWL. He hit .301 in 2012 while starting all 39 games. Burmeister was a student assistant coach for the Eagles in 2014 and 2015 while earning his bachelor's degree in communications in 2014. 
 

He is currently serving as the hitting coach for the Grand Junction Rockies (MiLB) of the Colorado Rockies.  "My role is in player development on the minor league side," says Burmeister.  "Because of COVID, I was only at spring training for about two weeks before being sent home. I got a small taste of it and was really enjoying it."
 
A sandlot style game is played each week with the players in charge of lineups and assigning positions.  Umpiring is usually done from behind the pitchers' mound, but catchers have called balls and strikes at times.  "We will play as many innings as the pitching allows while making sure we are being smart with pitch counts," says Burmeister.
 
Feldman and Burmeister want to keep the weekly interaction going as long as they can.  It will be more challenging as more college guys have to report back to school, but for now we have plenty of players and we will continue playing," says Feldman. 
 
"Seth and I have alternative plans in the case we end up not having enough players to continue the games with offering the opportunity for players to hold organized workouts," says Burmeister.
 
Feldman and Burmeister have enjoyed being a part of the program during the summer.  "The energy these guys bring each week is fun to be around," says Feldman.  "Trevor has done a great job with this, he's the one who gets everything set up as far as field rental and making sure we have enough pitching each week.  He also brings all of the equipment.  All I have to do is show up, it's a very easy deal because of everything he puts into it."
 
"We have been in the middle of incredibly uncertain times," says Burmeister.  "COVID has taken away a lot of opportunity for these kids, and made it very difficult for them to continue playing and working on their game.  It was important for Seth and I to provide this opportunity, so these players could feel prepared before reporting to school."  He adds the games at Woodside are the only opportunity for some players to get on a field and compete.
 
"Both Seth and I love to teach the game," says Burmeister.  "These scrimmages are great for the kids, but they are equally as great for both Seth and I.  Being able to get on a field, talk baseball with different guys, see and feel competition again has been a great experience for us also through this COVID ordeal.  It feels like we are back to work again."