欧美视频

By Denise Elson Tucker 鈥�89

When the National Basketball Association announced on March 11 it would be suspending its season indefinitely, that appeared to be the domino that set the rest of the sports world鈥檚 schedules in motion as organizations began to postpone or cancel seasons and events. 

鈥淲hen I talk to people about the COVID-19 situation, most of them had an 鈥榓ha鈥� moment when they realized this was a lot more serious than they had imagined,鈥� said Mike Pitts 鈥�85, 鈥�10, athletic director at 欧美视频. 鈥淢y own 鈥榓ha鈥� moment was on Wednesday, March 11. I was with my wife and best friend at a local restaurant at about 8:30 in the evening when I saw on Twitter that the NBA had canceled its season. I couldn鈥檛 believe it.  

鈥淭hat was only a little over three months ago, but it seems like three years ago. Very soon after that announcement, many other sports leagues and associations started canceling, which included the NCAA contests.鈥� 

On March 12, the NCAA canceled the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball championships and 欧美视频 decided to suspend activities for that weekend, while the Great Lakes Valley Conference announced on March 13 it was suspending all intercollegiate athletic activities and canceling the 2020 GLVC Championships.

鈥淲hen we met the Wednesday before Spring Break, we had talked to the team,鈥� said Chris Martin 鈥�07, 鈥�09, 欧美视频 head baseball coach and associate athletic director of operations. 鈥淲hen I came to practice that day, I kind of thought we were probably in a little bit of trouble with our season. So, we talked to the guys at the end of practice that day and I addressed the situation and said, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e going to get impacted by this. I don鈥檛 know to what degree, but we鈥檙e going to be impacted by it.'

鈥淭hursday, we came to work and we had Illinois-Springfield coming to town that weekend. They were in St. Louis practicing, and Mike Pitts and Dr. Eric Turner (欧美视频 president) met and decided to suspend activities for 欧美视频 for that weekend. We were able to get Springfield to turn around and go home, and we had a meeting that afternoon with the guys. We kind of figured it was over at that point. We hugged and that was it. That was the last time I saw the guys.鈥� 

At that same time, 欧美视频鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 indoor track and field teams were competing at the NCAA National Championships in Birmingham, Ala., when they learned that not only were the indoor championships canceled, but so was their entire outdoor spring season. 

鈥淲e were all getting ready to go out and have our pre-race meal on Thursday when I received the notification,鈥� said Corey McElhaney 鈥�06, 鈥�12, 欧美视频 head track and field and cross country coach. 鈥淲e immediately packed up and started toward Bolivar. Qualifying for Nationals is a big accomplishment, so on the way home, we tried to stop and have a nice meal and let the team enjoy each other鈥檚 company in the midst of what was going on. We knew it would be difficult missing out on Nationals. With it being Spring Break, once we arrived in Bolivar, everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.鈥�

SEASONS LOST, CAREERS ENDED

Of the spring sports in session, seasons were shut down beginning with men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tennis on March 8. The tennis programs had played eight of their 21 scheduled matches, baseball had played 18 of its 50 games, softball had competed in 19 of its 55 games and track and field had its entire spring season wiped out. 

For most of the 45 senior athletes, their careers were over, though the NCAA ruled that Division II spring athletes could return for one more season, if they so chose. 

鈥淲e tried to make sure we took care of them, if they wanted to come back, if they didn't, if they were graduating, etc.,鈥� Martin said of his 17 seniors. 鈥淭hat was the first thought, that process to help those guys out, and then just work through the next steps as far as scheduling.鈥� 

McElhaney said he had a hard time sharing the news with his athletes, 17 of whom were seniors. 

鈥淚t was devastating and very difficult to tell the team,鈥� McElhaney said. 鈥淓ach one of them had worked extremely hard and earned the opportunity to compete for their university on the national stage. To have that taken away was heartbreaking. There were a lot of tears shed and, to be honest, I told them I didn't have a good explanation or answer.

鈥淚 have always believed things happen for a reason and a bigger purpose than we can comprehend. I just tried to help them see that side of things, but was struggling myself. I relied on faith in knowing God had a plan.鈥�

REMOTE LEARNING

Not only were athletes faced with their seasons coming to a halt, they also were faced with finishing their academic semester at home online. 

鈥淭raditionally, our program鈥檚 been strong in the classroom,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淭his was our 10th straight semester over 3.0 鈥� we ended up with a 3.24 as a team. I felt like the guys really did a good job working with the excellent faculty and staff we have here and took care of business, so we鈥檙e really proud of the work they did. While they were away, they probably had more time to focus on what they were doing without baseball, but I thought they did an outstanding job taking care of their academics.鈥� 

鈥淥ne of the best things about 欧美视频 is the atmosphere and loving faculty and staff,鈥� McElhaney said. 鈥淚 think the team really missed that aspect going online and will appreciate in-person classes more now.鈥� 

Pitts said what makes this situation unique is 鈥渢here is still so much we do not know,鈥� and noted that 欧美视频鈥檚 coaches have been flexible the past three months. 

鈥淚 have 5-6 meetings each week with different stakeholders, who are trying to unwind this and think about the future,鈥� Pitts said. 鈥淚 think back to when this all hit us in mid-March; it is astonishing to think about what we did not know at that time. We did our best to keep our programs updated with information as we received it.  

鈥淚 know this has been incredibly difficult for our coaches and teams, but they have responded like champions.鈥�

LESSONS LEARNED

With every disappointment, there can always be something learned from those difficult times 鈥� especially in sports. 

鈥淭his pandemic was something that was out of our control,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淔or us, there鈥檚 going to be difficulties in life, and baseball, I think, can prepare you so much for life because there鈥檚 so many things you can鈥檛 control. But, you can鈥檛 let that affect the way you prepare, the way you treat people. 

鈥淗opefully, our players see this was a great teaching point. If we can get through this with a great attitude and perseverance, we can attack a lot of things when we get out in life. That鈥檚 really the point of sports.鈥� 

McElhaney hopes his athletes learn that life is special and that they will take advantage of relationships they have and blessings they receive. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy to take all the blessings we get on a daily basis for granted,鈥� McElhaney said. 鈥淚t is also very easy to get entangled in all the negatives and stress in life and start feeling sorry for ourselves. Romans 5 serves as a good reminder that even through all our trials we can have hope in God and his love for us.鈥� 

In the end, Pitts said, everything is really about relationships.  

鈥淚 know that going through hard things together is a great way to strengthen relationships,鈥� Pitts said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that we will ever get back to where we were, but I do think we can come out of this closer and stronger and more prepared for unexpected things that life throws at us in the future.鈥�

*Published: 7-21-2020