COVID-19 brings school sports to a halt

Mid-to-late March, and early April, is typically every sports fan's favorite time of year. In a typical early Spring, in a typical year, Major League Baseball is in Spring Training with Opening Day fast approaching. The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League are making a final push into the Playoffs. The NCAA would be fully engaged in March Madness, for both men and women, with sports like baseball, softball, and a half-dozen others in the early stages of their seasons. But this is definitely NOT a typical early Spring and most certainly NOT a typical year. COVID-19, the coronavirus, and the many uncertainties surrounding it, have brought many sectors of American society to a standstill, and that includes sports. Professional sports leagues suspended seasons and postponed the start, the NCAA cancelled men's and women's postseason basketball tournaments, and canceled all remaining winter and spring sports championships, leading conferences individual institutions to cancel, or suspend indefinitely, spring seasons. Closer to home, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association suspended play in postseason basketball tournaments into the girls' championships.

The Division II state basketball tournament was completed as scheduled. The Division I girls' tournament was suspended after the quarterfinal round and the Division I boys' tournament did not commence. Per a media release from the TSSAA, "at the direction of the Board of Control, the TSSAA executive staff will make every effort to complete the Division I tournaments if/when circumstances allow." While the TSSAA does not regulate regular-season scheduling or practice, the association did release a recommendation following Governor Bill Lee's statement on March 16th related to school closings. The TSSAA recommended that all spring sports follow the same precautions as the Governor outlined for schools, and suspend spring seasons through, at least, March 31st.

When Lewis County Schools closed for the period from March 17th through April 5th, slated to return to school on April 6th, spring sports teams were directed to follow suit, as Lewis County Middle School Panther baseball and softball each canceled games immediately following the press release from Director of Schools Benny Pace on March 16th. First-year head coach Cody Owen of the LCMS Panther baseball team, undefeated with a 2-0 start to the season, hopes the team will be able to play once school reopens. "COVID-19 has put our season on pause, as of right now we cannot play or practice until April 6th," Owen commented. "We're going to have to wait and see what happens and we will adjust accordingly. Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule most of these games." Jonah Keltner, assistant softball coach for the LCMS Lady Panthers who started the season 2-1, expressed disappointment for the team speaking for first-year head coach Bethany Keltner. "I feel sorry for all of the girls on our team who have worked so hard for months now to get in shape and improve their game, only to have most, if not all, of their season cancelled," Keltner added, "I especially feel sorry for the eighth graders, who may have played their last game in a LCMS uniform, and didn't get to enjoy their final season of Middle School softball as they should have."

The closing and suspension of the season occurred one week into the high school schedules. LCHS baseball head coach Tim Tiller expressed disappointment for his gritty, scrappy team that opened up 2-0. "We are excited about what we have," Tiller explained. Since closing of schools includes closing of all facilities and shutting down practices, Tiller hopes his team can do work individually. " (I) Hope we are able to stay in shape and game ready on our own" saying players may have to do "what we used to do before we had indoor facilities" There are many scenarios that could play out related to finishing a limited schedule, seeding within the district, and post-season play. "It is very disappointing for the team, especially for our Seniors. They've put in a lot of hard work over the years to see their Senior year put on hold or possibly end with only two games played. But these are things that are out of our control, because our kid's health and safety is more important," Tiller concluded.

Shelby Tanner, who has the Lewis County High School tennis teams with 9-10 (girls') and 12-6 (boys') records shared optimism for completing her schedule. "The closing of schools will only cancel two games for us because of spring break and other schools' spring breaks," Tanner shared. She continued to say "hopefully we will return back to school on April 6th, but not being able to practice is tough for our season. We could really use this time to regroup and work hard to improve our weaknesses, but I would rather be overly cautious to protect them than the alternative."

Greg Amacher, head coach of the LCHS Lady Panther softball team who were undefeated to start the season, is also holding out hope for tournament play. "The future of our season is unknown, but for now the TSSAA has pushed back the State Tournament giving us a few extra weeks in May to play some games," Amacher explained. "I really hate it for the four seniors I have and for the whole team, but for the Seniors this is their last year to play the game we love so much. Things are truly hard when you have no control, except to do what they are telling us to slow or kill this virus and put it all in God's hands to fix things and help the world out during this time of crisis," he concluded. All Lewis County coaches express hope that their seasons will continue at some point, albeit abbreviated, and have a chance at some form of post-season play.

Two former LCHS baseball players currently playing collegiate baseball were also impacted by the cancellation of the spring seasons. Stone Selby, a pitcher for the 14-3 Belmont Bruins, had appeared in six games for the Bruins and was averaging more than a strikeout an inning as a reliever. Dakota Crowell, pitching for the 15-3 Martin Methodist Red Hawks, was a perfect 5-0 on the season, leading the team with 31 strikeouts in 26 innings. Martin-Methodist played their last game on March 8th, Belmont on March 10th.