I broke news for the first time on Friday.
Not as a sportswriter. I’ve been lucky enough to have good sources over the years to get out in front of the news and be the first to land a story about this or that.
It can be a great feeling of accomplishment and reiterate that this is what you are supposed to be doing. It comes in the form of a tweet or link to a story. Sometimes the news isn’t great and can be hurtful to some but that was a result I never really saw in person.
That wasn’t the case today.
I broke news as a teacher for the first time to a couple of athletes – a wrestler and a girls basketball player - in my class that the winter sports season was canceled. It wasn’t embedded in a tweet or in a 500-word story underneath my byline.
It was right in front of me.
Their minds were working as soon as the words left my mouth. Their facial expression – starting with the eyes – changed as the news settled in that they were not going to be able to compete this year in the sport they love and have competed in for years. The AIA executive board decided – after already moving the starting date twice in an attempt to have some sort of season – to cancel all winter sports.
They were pretty despondent. They wanted no part of Bio Lab after that. They wanted to reach out to teammates, family members, coaches, or anyone else who might be a pillar of support. The one thing that I made clear was that they were only freshmen. They have three years ahead of them, but at this point who knows when and if that will be the case.
The seniors, on the other hand, got news they were done. No chance to finish up their careers. Over after about five weeks of practice and no competition.
Imagine how they feel - like they are being cheated or left in the wake of decisions made by men and women in a meeting room; that they don’t care about what it means to be an athlete; to sacrifice to be the best they could, to be a senior class with no place to play.
Campo Verde wrestling coach Chris Bishop had to have the same conversation with his athletes, but by the time he got the Coyotes together after school news had already spread. Nearly everyone already knew, but to hear it officially from your coach makes it real.
“It’s heart-breaking,” said senior Jake Dunham, who finished third in the state at 120 pounds last season. “To sit here and think I will never lace up (his shoes) for Campo Verde again is something hard to think about. We were just about ready to get it started. It’s still settling in after seeing it on Twitter and felt like time stood still.”
Unfortunately, the clock keeps on ticking and Bishop did what he could to preserve the final moments of the season for the seniors. He sent all of the other classes home and had a seniors only final practice. One more time in the Coyotes wrestling room before taking off the wrestling shoes, walking out the room and having it end before it even started.
“It’s tough, holding these guys and have them crying in your arms,” Bishop said. “They just wanted a chance and I thought they were going to get it. (The AIA) postponed stuff, put in some new rules with scheduling and it looked like it was going to happen. This blindsided me. I thought everything was in place to have the shortened season, but that’s not the case. I was blindsided.
“I understand why they did it, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I wish they just would have pulled the plug in November. It would have been a lot easier than getting their hopes up and then having it end like this with everyone upset.”
With the metrics showing a continued surge of COVID-19 cases, along with reports of hospitals being maxed out, combined with recommendations from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the winter season was in clear jeopardy.
The executive board went with its gut.
It just so happens the decision rips out the guts of the athletes and coaches involved in winter sports, especially considering club sports continue to be played and even some sports at the junior high level will continue on with the winter sports season.
“My goal was to win state,” Dunham said. “I worked for years; pointing toward my senior year. I won’t get that chance now.”
He still might but it will have a different look and not be sanctioned by the AIA.
There are some developments, in the early stages, with hopes of coming up with some form a wrestling season as one coach said, “We will still compete. The supervision organization and logistics will just look different.”
American Leadership Academy - Gilbert North coach Tommy James has emailed Division III coaches about having dual meets and posted on a Facebook page - Arizona wrestling - that his team will:
"We will wrestle anyone in AZ. We just moved up to D3 from D4 and we have a full varsity and full JV team. We are trying to keep our original schedule placed by the AIA but we understand that some of those schools will not be able to wrestle. With that said we want to fill up those vacant spots with any team under the AZ sun."
The Mesa High twitter page tweeted "Carry On" as you might expect but there just might be an additional meaning behind it.
Furthermore, the the AZ USA Wrestling Board of Directors put out a statement Saturday: First and foremost, we move the AIA to reconsider their decision of canceling the 2021 season. However, if the AIA decision holds true, AZ USA wrestling is prepared to promote a safe high school wrestling season for boys and girls at all high school levels. Our goal is to have a number of qualifying tournaments that lead to a state championship. All events will use USA Wrestling’s recommendations for safe tournament precautions which are similar to AIA COVID 19 protocols. We will attempt to mirror AIA Season as best as possible. While we understand that there are for-profit tournaments available, we highly discourage anyone to promote such an event as a high school state championship. Our intent is to give athletes the opportunities that they might not otherwise receive. We see this as a contingency plan, in hopes that the AIA reconsiders their decision to cancel the 2021 wrestling season.
In other words, Dunham and others may still get some type of outlet.
There are already non-AIA sanctioned events that take place throughout Arizona and bordering states that club teams and individuals travel to and have done so throughout most of the pandemic.
Club soccer and basketball will continue in that fashion as well but that doesn’t help the 12th man on the bench or the backup defenseman who doesn’t play club and loves putting on that school practice jersey every day.
There is just something different about wearing the school colors that brings a level of pride, shared memories, or just being associated with the team when they wear the jersey or tie and dress shirt while walking the halls on game day. Maybe you get mentioned on the school announcements or their picture gets in the school yearbook or newspaper. Or maybe it is something as simple as getting a bucket in garbage time; earn your first varsity letter as a freshman.
None of those achievements require breaking news, but they do create lasting memories; ones that get told over and over again at reunions or to their children someday while reliving the high school days.
Memories that will cease to exist and will be replaced with that collection of disbelief that will forever be linked to the pain of the pandemic.
