By: Keyshawn Davis | Sports Editor | [email protected]
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Board of Directors unanimously voted March 19 to cancel the remainder of the 2020 sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board of directors also voted that nearly 9,500 student-athletes who competed this spring will have their season restored, provided they have not been cut or quit prior to the seasons postponement on March 12, according to cccastats.org.
City College athletes and coaches shared their initial thoughts on the CCCAA decision to postpone the remainder of the season and how that has impacted them going forward.
“While I’m certainly disappointed, I believe most athletes are taking it well if the CCCAA and NCAA do the right thing and restore their season of eligibility,” said David Griffin, tennis head coach, via email. “The unfortunate aspect of this finality within the scope of collegiate sports is the locker room of affiliation with like-minded teammates and the lifelong experiences that come through the struggle of a season, and that is forever gone.”
Griffin said there are many memories that will never be realized in the world’s new normallike championships that will never happen, or losing the “big one.”
Swimmer Evan Nicholas, biology major, said he was not happy that the spring sports were canceled in the middle of the swim season.
“I was honestly kind of bummed because we were at least over halfway into the season,” said Nicholas. “It seems like all of our hard work that we put in is going to waste a little bit. I was a little upset about that but of course understanding what’s going on. [Head coach Steve Hanson] was trying to have us stay active in case something happens to where we might come back. He pretty much told us to try to keep our heads up, even if it does get canceled.”
Softball head coach Tim Kiernan said the cancellation of the season was probably going to happen anyway and doesn’t know if the CCCAA plans on restoring the season.
“Not something you can plan on,” said Kiernan, “but you kind of expect it, and we have to go on from here. This is a national emergency, and there’s no way we can plan for this, and there’s a lot of other schools and spring sports that were having really good years. And things like that happen. But our players know that, and hopefully everybody stays safe and we get through this and see what happens. Will there be out-of season-sports? I don’t know. We probably won’t know anything until June where this goes.”
Softball player and outfielder Avery Smith, sophomore, said she’s going to play again because of the CCCAA granting an extra year to sophomore athletes.
“Initially I was shocked, but now it’s just disappointing that it’s cancelled,” said Smith. “But it’s for a better purpose. I’m going to play again next year; they’re going to grant an extra year of eligibility. [Tim] said stay safe and stay healthy, [and] keep working if you can.”
Baseball head coach Derek Sullivan said there were certain decisions his staff had to make with the returning players due to the season’s cancellation.
“Initially it was frustrating, then it became really sad,” said Sullivan. “Then the inevitability of it was just more, ‘All right. What do we do for the kids next year? Which kids come back? Which kids move on?’ That’s kind of the mode I’m in right now with my staff. It’s less about how crappy it is, and it’s more about what’s next? It’s crushing for the kids because they put so much into it.”
Sullivan said he told the team before cancellation that he didn’t know when the CCCAA would restore the season, and, depending on what the NCAA does, there could be more players allowed on baseball teams.
“There’s a logjam depending on what the NCAA does, especially the D-1 level,” said Sullivan. “There could be much larger rosters that have been allowed in the past. Our guys basically get a redo if [they] want. We don’t know the timetables on anything. Does this extend into the fall? How far into the summer? It’s interesting. We just don’t know, and we can’t meet.”
Sullivan said that if his team had played another two weeks, the players in the middle of the order would have D-1 deals.
“There was enough recruitment of them,” said Sullivan. “But as it is with how things shake out there’s a good chance we get those guys back again next year.
“We’re just looking for what’s best for our guys. If it’s best for them to come back, we’ll have another good team. We had a couple of good recruits that have committed to us, which is awesome. It’s not normal you get a guy that[’s] basically gotten to play for three years, and you get [him] for that third year. That’s not the two-year level, right? We’ll see how it goes.”
