Sports events, athletes put on hold — and, in the meantime ...
Definition of “in the meantime” — “during the time before something happens or before a specified period ends.”
Are we ever in the “meantime”!
Back in March, baseball and softball teams were gearing up and the boys and girls track teams were showing signs of another banner year in 2020.
The girl tracksters were favorites to win a third straight state outdoor team championship after winning their third straight state title indoors. The boys tracksters were a relay disqualification from winning a title in 2018 and they were state runnersup in 2019 and who knows what they could have done this season. Being a big time track fan, I feel a keen disappointment for what could have been but now can’t be.
The most melancholic thing to ponder is the senior athletes who suddenly were faced with the fact that their high school sporting careers were suddenly over. There is talk of collegiate senior baseball/softball/track athletes being given another year of eligibility but there will be no extra year for high school athletes, this is it. The hope for that career defining big moment in their final senior season evaporated like the spring fog.
I had a hard time taking seriously the rumors that flew in early March that school might be closed for a time and sports would have to go on hiatus for a few weeks. The rumors became fact and then later we found out that there was to be no more school classes and no more sports for the rest of the 2019-2020 school term.
College sports were canceled, pro sports were canceled, restaurants were closed, theaters locked down and any kind of gatherings were advised against. To our governor’s credit, at least the state did not go into the heavy handed police state tactics of other states, and the residents of Arkansas did a pretty good job voluntarily heeding the guidelines.
I was in the midst of planning field trips, art exhibitions, etc., but then all of a sudden, here I am teaching art from behind a computer screen. Though I had never heard of “Zoom” meetings a month ago, I am now a seasoned veteran of Zoom meetings with students and faculty. Set up with my computer in our main dining room, I have spent more time in that space than I have for several previous years combined.
Now a month has passed, and I suppose I have gotten used to it. Nah, bad supposition.
I’m not used to it, really, and I fervently hope that this chapter of American history never ever gets repeated. The joy and fulfillment of being a teacher is being in the moment with the students, interacting and working with them to improve their skills, their knowledge and their creativity. If I ever considered a career in online education post retirement, it’s not happening now.
Sitting with my wife watching our online church service this morning, the minister where I attend made a very valuable point. Relating to religious life, it isn’t all about just getting to heaven, its more about living your life — right now.
We are in a kind of lock in-lock down mode during the school day but after 3 o’clock, I am now looking at time I usually don’t have, to do other things. I hadn’t really thought about that until this morning, but having time you didn’t expect ought to be used like a gift.
Like most folks, I have been spending a lot more time picking up/cleaning up around the house and I have found more lost items than I ever knew I was looking for. This afternoon, I decided to spend time looking at artistic trends or techniques that I might not have ever had the time to consider. I’m even thinking about working on my discus throwing in the event the Senior Olympics goes on as scheduled this fall. I have meant to do that for six years but haven’t. Luckily, my right shoulder is my last remaining original parts joint, so I ought to make the most of it.
All of the now idle athletes ought to use this time to improve their skills for when they do get back to the playing fields. Those who use this time to raise their fitness and improve their skills may come out of the imposed furloughs ahead of athletes who may have outperformed them prior to the shutdown.
Life happens. Having taught for 44 years, I thought I had seen everything, but I hadn’t.
In the meantime, between what was and what will be again, I think I will see what I can do to be a little further down the road.
Sports news in Arkansas
National football Hall of Fame high school Frank McClellan passed away at the age of 79. He owns the state record for most football regular season football victories in a row (111) and captured eight state titles for the Barton Bears in eastern Arkansas. He also owns the state record for most victories all time at 367.
Coach McClellan was a great coach and person and, though he was pursued by many bigger schools with bigger purses, he preferred to stay with Barton where he was a head coach for 38 seasons. He won conference titles for over 20 straight years. Loyalty to a school like McClellan had is rare especially over the last few years across our country.
Eight-man football in Arkansas got three new participants with Subiaco, Marshall and Rosebud opting to abandon 11-man football for the more manageable eight-man variety. They join Augusta, Brinkley, Decatur, Episcopal, Hermitage, Western Yell and Woodlawn in the new division.