What else can an editor do in these days of social isolation and strict (here in New Jersey anyway) shelter-at-home orders? Well, we talk to people. A lot of people. All day.

• I have been talking with a bunch of vendors and they finally received word that the Sports, Inc. Summer Team Dealer Show scheduled for June in Nashville has been cancelled due to “current and anticipated restrictions on large gatherings.” According to an email sent by Sports, Inc. to vendors on April 23, the buying group will invite vendors to participate in a “virtual show” this summer, with deadlines and instructions to come in a few weeks. NBS had already announced the cancellation of its Fort Worth buying show in late June.
• I was talking to a friend of mine who happens to be a local independent team dealer and one of the most successful high school soccer coaches in the state. Both of his passions – business and coaching – are on hold, so he tells me he spends his time cleaning out the warehouse and working on his technology skills, along with looking for ways to expand his business once schools open up again. When? He doesn’t know either.
• I was talking to an independent sales rep to find out what his link in the team sports product chain does when it can’t be on the road calling on schools and pushing product. Showing that necessity is the mother of invention in these strange days, he tells of others who have expanded to sell face masks and cleaning supplies (donating a lot of them, too) to local businesses while keeping in virtual touch with their dealers. You do what you gotta do.
• Speaking of dealers, I was talking with another little guy in the Midwest and he says he is finally cleaning out a lot of old inventory in his warehouse as a way to keep some of his people busy. He has also written what he calls “If-open” orders — similar to what retailers do with licensed products before the Super Bowl or World Series every year. He wants to be ready to pull the trigger when we come out on the other side of all of this.
• I was talking with a West Coast manufacturer and his exact words were, “This pandemic is fundamentally changing the landscape for how we, as people and businesses, live our lives and operate.” He says his factories in China are open and making product, but the logjam is on the ships and in the ports. But with demand down so much now here in the U.S. any delivery issues are the least of his problems.
• I was talking to my three kids and they are all safe and healthy, thanks for asking. My oldest son is a teacher and coach, so he, too, is removed from his two passions but is getting to spend a lot of time with his new dog. My other son is a youth program coordinator at a community health center in Pennsylvania that is shut down, so he is spending his time planning for a summer camp program that may or may not happen. My daughter stays busy with her two kids, but her volunteer job as a race director for a local kids’ running program has gone virtual, changing the nature of that effort.
• I was talking with my writers on Team Insight and they are also out there asking dealers about how they feel, what they are doing and  what they think is going to happen next in the world of team sports. Are schools going to open again this year (most likely not)? Will summer football/soccer/cheer/lacrosse/track camps even take place? And the $64,000 (million dollar?) question for our industry at this point: Will fall sports happen? Some say yes, some say they are planning for it but are not optimistic. More on those thoughts in future issues of Team Insight Extra and in the regular May/June issue of Team Insight.
• And I’ve been talking to myself a lot and losing a lot of arguments along the way. But that’s what it is like in quarantine here in New Jersey. Stay safe out there. And please stay in touch.