This is a hard message to write. Everything has changed so quickly. Obviously I was hoping to have good news to report from a successful weekend at the NCAA Indoor National Championship. We were excited to have five individuals qualified and our team was ranked 19th in the country.
Instead, it was a rush to get home from a canceled meet and slap together one last team meeting on Friday evening to explain to 80 athletes that the rest of their season was canceled. I saw disappointment and uncertainty on their faces. On top of this news, they just had been told to pack up all their belongings and head home for an indeterminate amount of time.
Obviously, the situation quickly encompassed more than the track season and school semester. The entire situation still seems rather surreal. I was so preoccupied last week with making travel plans and trying to transport our pole vault poles. We departed on Wednesday and started to hear rumors at the airport that a few teams weren’t going to be traveling due to the coronavirus. It seemed ridiculous to consider such an option. We arrived in Charlotte, NC on Wednesday evening and drove to Winston-Salem Thursday morning. We went through our normal routine of checking out the facilities during our pre-meet workout that afternoon.
After the afternoon workout, the situation changed rapidly. First we heard that the NCAA was limiting meet spectators to family and necessary personnel. Not a big deal. Shortly after, we heard there would be no spectators at all. Our guys quickly started calling family members that had planned to attend. It wasn’t long until we heard about schools like Carleton canceling their entire spring sports season. All the teams for Nationals were already assembled and practicing in the same building. I never really considered that the National meet would be called off.
At the hotel, we monitored the news and social media while distracting ourselves by watching Keanu Reeves in “Speed”. It didn't take long before professional sports teams started to postpone events and our meet quickly followed. As soon as we knew they weren’t competing, a HUGE gift basket of junk food was demolished by all athletes and coaches alike. I suppose there’s worse ways to take out our frustration than stress eating Sour Patch Kids and Butterfingers (Thanks, Robin!).
At the time, the most shocking news was the decision to cancel the outdoor championship- 10 weeks away. No wait and see approach, but canceled entirely. Seniors were not only being told they wouldn’t be competing at Nationals, but also their track and field experience was entirely over from that moment. We have now heard similar heartbreaking stories across the nation from collegiate to highschool. It is small consolation to know that our sport wasn’t the only thing impacted. And now hearing not only of people becoming ill, but losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet, it is sobering to know many are more greatly impacted than we are. However, at the time it was difficult to put that into perspective.
Back in North Carolina, the next few hours were a whirlwind of disbelief and planning. I had expected that feeling to have subsided by now. It hasn’t. The disbelief is accompanied by the disappointment from the abrupt end to the season and more importantly, the loss of normalcy.
Everyone has their methods of tracking time. I keep time by track and field seasons. “What year? Oh that was the year we had to cancel Tim’s track dedication because there was a huge storm in April- 2018.” I truly enjoy going to work each day and seeing the great people that assemble to make our team. To say I’m mourning this lost season is probably too melodramatic, but I don’t expect to get over this disappointment very quickly, either. I’m hopeful that the sacrifices these athletes have had to make will keep them and their families out of harm’s way with regard to this pandemic. Our 2020 team was very strong and only four seniors are graduating. Many of the athletes have shared that they have high expectations for next year’s season.
As for me, I’m doing my part at keeping our community safe by limiting contact with others outside my home. I’m attempting to maintain my normal schedule: working out, reading about training technique, writing training plans, and reaching out to recruits. For the next couple months, my primary goal is to keep our team motivated and training, adjusting workouts for each athlete’s unique circumstances. Instead of being in close quarters with Coach Joe every day for 8 hours, I’m working from home with my family. Therefore, I’ve had to dial down my daily banter of track talk- my family doesn’t want to discuss tendon strength protocol or exercise selection for speed development.
Another part of my regular routine is to write this blog all spring, so even though there are no meets to recap, I plan to continue to write. I have a couple anecdotes left over from earlier this season and I’ve socked away a couple stories about team etiquette and my personal running streak I plan to share. In the meantime, I appreciate everyone taking the time to follow our team and all the kind messages of support.
Stay healthy and take care of each other.