STATE PULLS PLUG ON SPRING SEASON
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY » Exactly six weeks ago, colleges and the NCAA started making the decisions to cancel their spring 2020 seasons.
As the calendar turned from April to May, high school student-athletes were still holding their breath, hoping they might get to play games in the spring of 2020. That hope was taken away on May 1, as Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced schools across New York state will remain closed through the academic year.
While schools maintain their distance learning protocols, NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas repeatedly said that students would need to actually be in school in order for athletics to resume.
The déjà vu moment on Friday afternoon was tough to take in, especially for high school seniors. While some are going on the play a sports in college, for others high school athletics would be the final time playing organized sports.
“I really feel bad for these kids. Some kids have played their last high school game and there is nothing we can do about it,” Lansingburgh baseball coach Matt Cater said. “It definitely wasn’t the news we wanted to hear. I feel bad for the seniors who didn’t get to play their senior year.
“That part is a bit tough to comprehend.”
While the season had been on pause for the last month
and a half, that doesn’t mean the student-athletes have stopped working. Most have continued to meet with their teammates virtually and work out on their own.
Thomas Schwan, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake lacrosse coach, had a message for those athletes who continued to put in the hard work, even though there was so much uncertainty on whether or not there would be a season.
“I can’t imagine what is going through these kids heads, but we are all thinking about them. I just want them to know that everything they’ve done, all the work they’ve put in, hoping that there would be a season, it isn’t for nothing. They’ve been able to keep busy and stay in shape, now we just have to try to make the most of it as the kids go away to college, or start thinking about the fall. At Burnt Hills, a lot of out kids are multisport athletes,” he said.
“They understand the big picture and that none of this is in our control,” Schwan added. “This is so much bigger than one season.”
The heartbreak from the news has stretched far and wide. Although the news of schools being closed for the remainder of the school year was inevitable, that doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
“This is not the end to the spring season that any of our baseball kids wanted, but they know and understand the big picture. They also know just how important it is not to take anything for granted,” Averill Park baseball coach George Brooks said. “They have expressed that they will continue to work hard in preparation for the future. To me, that is the sign of a true winner, even if the score board remains blank.
“The seniors will be missed and remembered for how strong they stayed during these times!”
In Ballston Spa, the feeling of community remains strong.
“It’s heartbreaking. We’ve been hopeful for over a month and had great participation from our players in virtual meetings and workouts. Our kids and families have poured so much of themselves into our program from a young age,” said Lucas Snow, the Scotties’ lacrosse coach.
His team is going to have a chance to meet virtually the evening of Friday May 1, to discuss the news, as well as play team trivia. If the season has taken place, they’d be going for their third straight Section 2 championship.
“Despite the loss, we have such extraordinary efforts and success and I hope when they sit together in 10 years, this was a hurdle that they all experienced together. They will talk about the great memories they formed over the past three years and their favorite moments, a lot of which were when they were together on bus trips and team dinners,” Snow said.
The heartbreak is prevalent in Saratoga Springs, for the Blue Streaks as well.
Andy Cuthbertson, Saratoga’s baseball coach, spoke about what his team was looking forward to this season.
“Honestly it’s heartbreaking, not just for the seniors, but for the whole team. All these guys worked so hard all year, coming off an extremely tough loss in sections last season and I know they wanted to come back and get revenge. It’s unfortunate knowing that they won’t be able to get that opportunity.”
For the Plainsmen, who were looking to return to the New York State championship game, there is also an empty feeling inside, only wondering what could have been.
“My heart breaks for the seniors, who have worked so hard to get to this point. Normally we’d be in the final stretch of the season and heading towards sections,” said Gregory Christodulu, Shen’s baseball coach. “I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now.
“They are such a great group of guys and they’re resilient. I know they’ll get through this.”
Many coaches attested to the fact there will be sports, both professionally and locally, happening again soon, they just not as soon as they would have liked.