Sport commissions struggling juggling 2021 season

Imagine losing your whole 2020 spring and winter sports season. There are 15 winter sports and 9 spring sports which have all been canceled.

Many seniors in high school were ready to show their skills off to college recruiters who would be looking to give them a scholarship to their school. These seniors had big plans, but because of the covid-19, their sports career may or may not be over.

Some colleges and universities have decided to keep the best seniors that they have. What does that mean for incoming students who play the same sport or position? This means the sport commissioners have a big decision to make. According to the Washington Post “The Division I Council Coordination Committee announced its “leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports.”

The choice is big and will cause many complaints. They can let a freshman take the place of the senior who was in the 2020 class, which has its advantages such as younger so more athletic ability, more years to be in the sport and could they start this next season. This also has its disadvantages: they may not play the sport as well as the 2020 class, they may suffer from a terrible injury while playing, or could sit on the bench for the whole season if not a starter or a main sub.

They can also keep seniors from the 2020 class, which has it advantages. They have played at the college level before so they know what could happen, they have played longer, and know what they need to work on to be better. The disadvantages are they are only there for 1 year, it costs extra money to keep them there, and if they get hurt, you can’t play them. 

In a Zoom call with the Airforce Academies very own Isaiah Mason stated that “being a senior is tough right now for both college and high school students but, in this time of need there is always a good that will come out of it. Even though you lost graduation and prom, you need to move forward and continue.” 

Also, in the zoom call CMUs beach volley player Maddi Foutz stated “this covid-19 has given athletes the time they need to rest. If you really want to get better as an athlete now is the time, colleges will be looking for improvement not someone who was being lazy. So work hard and focus on things that will make you better.”

College recruiters are gonna look for people who have risen up and taken action, either by helping others or helping themselves. These are the people they want on their team. They will make it better and help win. So take this time to better yourself to show colleges either a senior of 2020 or an incoming freshman can be the best option for their team.