As the end of the fall semester is right around the corner, many Fall and Winter college athletes are in despair over losing their sports season already. With COVID-19 still affecting not only college students, but the rest of the nation as well, it has been very hard for college sports programs to operate as usual, while trying to keep their student-athletes safe. For smaller Division Three schools, like Brockport, the NCAA has put all athletic programs on hold, due to the schools not having enough resources in order to keep athletes healthy. As for Spring athletics, a final decision is still up in the air on whether or not there will be a season, which leaves spring sport athletes waiting desperately to see how their athletic careers will unfold, especially seniors.
One Brockport senior, Brandon Sveda, knows how it feels to lose his season. Sveda, a Kinesiology major, and Men’s Lacrosse player, was only able to play in a few games last year, before the season came to an abrupt stop in March, due to COVID cases spiking.
“It was extremely disappointing to see our season get cancelled last spring,” Sveda said. “It all happened so quickly, it felt like my teammates and I worked so hard for nothing.”
Now, Sveda and his teammates are unsure if this upcoming season will even happen, as the time for decision creeps up, and the COVID situation isn’t getting much better. The senior Lacrosse player is trying his best to stay prepared for the season, although he doesn’t think there’s a good chance he’ll be having one.
“I currently am not expecting a lacrosse season in the spring,” Sveda explains. “Based off of the cancellations of other sports this year, there seems to be little hope for us to play.”
Although pessimistic, Sveda is still making sure he is prepared if the season is to happen. He still hits the gym regularly, and is trying his best to stay in shape, although difficult at times like these. He is also very committed, and says he would make big sacrifices if it meant he could play in the spring.
“I want to play this spring very much and I would do whatever it would take to carry on with our season.” Sveda points out “A sacrifice I would be willing to make is quarantining with my teammates regularly, if it meant we could play.”
Sveda, along with his teammates, can only hope that come springtime, it will be safe to have a Lacrosse season. Until then, there is not much they can do. It is hard to say what the expected outcome is, as some college programs are saying they are optimistic, while others have expressed their doubts. If a season were to happen, it is expected that it will look much different to what we have seen in the past, for not only Lacrosse, but all spring sports. Whatever the outcome, it is surely unexpected and unforeseen. For now, the only thing that athletes like Sveda can do, is wait.
