NHS students react to sports cancellations

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
A couple of weeks ago Ron Laird, the Wyoming High School Activities Association Commissioner, announced that they had made the determination to officially cancel all spring sports for 2020.
In an interview with WyoPreps, Laird admitted the decision was far from easy for the association.
Laird said that the association took into consideration feedback from schools, and coupled that with balancing the protection of kids and fans during this unprecedented time. He also knew that the decision would meet with criticism, but that if schools reconvened before the end of the 2020 school year, the focus needed to be on academics, not on athletics. 
While this announcement came as no surprise to anyone, the finality of the decision was disappointing to say the least. 
“I kind of knew it was coming, but I am disappointed,” admitted senior Dogie goalkeeper Bradyn Frye. “We got to practice a week, and then it was just done.”
The coaches of the spring sports at NHS all voiced their disappointment that their seasons were shut down just as they had begun, but also all recognized the wisdom of the decision.
NHS head track coach Chad Ostenson was looking forward to having a girls’ track team this season after having only four girls out last year. He was returning senior distance runner Hailey McGuire to the team, as well as the addition of senior Madi Pearson to his sprint roster. The Dogies also had two returning seniors in Gunnar Wainscott and Ty Weeg. 
Ostenson was also looking forward to a new crop of freshman athletes who were staged to join the varsity team and would be bringing with them a great deal of talent to jumping, hurdles and sprints, while also filling out relay teams that would have been very competitive in the conference and the state.
“It wasn’t unexpected that they would make the call to cancel the season, but I just really like track and I’m sad that it isn’t happening,” Ostenson sighed. “It’s a sport where you are really able to develop relationships with the kids and with other coaches, not only on our team but around the conference, so I am going to really miss that.”
Jaylen Ostenson was also looking forward to her first year as a varsity trackster, but will have to wait until next season to test her skills against 3A competition.
“I understand why, and I’m just a freshman so I have three more years in front of me, but I feel bad for the seniors,” she began. “I was looking forward to my first year of high school track, but I guess it affected everyone, not just me, so it is what it is, I guess.”
Cami Willyard was poised to take over the Newcastle Lady Dogie Soccer team from former head coach Bryce Hoffman. The team was coming off of a successful season last year where they earned a state tournament berth, and Willyard along with returning assistant coach Ashley Reed were both looking forward to starting where they left off.
“I am bummed because I was really looking forward to having the experience of coaching the varsity team, and then we had the teaser of the first week of practice,” Willyard stated. “Seeing how Coach Hoffman had gotten the girls ready from last year was exciting and there was so much enthusiasm and athletic ability, that I was pretty pumped to see how we would do.”
Willyard and Reed both had hope for at least a shortened season right up until the announcement last week, however neither were surprised by the decision.
“We knew it was coming, but it’s just such a big disappointment,” Reed sighed. “The girls had put in so much work preparing for the season, but then it all fell by the wayside which is really sad.”
Both coaches expressed their regret that the seniors, Jayme Cass and Layla King, lost their final opportunity to play high school soccer, but are also relieved that the bulk of the team will return to the pitch in 2021. 
Elyse Dickey (head coach) and Sally Hoover (assistant coach) had a week of starting off a new era of Dogie Soccer, as they replaced Josh Peterson and Alex Schaneman as coaches of the squad this year. Like the Lady Dogies, the men were returning some experience to the pitch and were looking forward to a successful year.
“I was really excited to see where we would go, so the cancellation was a bummer for sure,” Dickey began. “We’ve got a lot of kids with a lot of talent and experience, so we were looking to do pretty well this season in my opinion. It’s not a surprise that it was called, but it was still disappointing.”
With just one week of practice, Dickey was very pleased with the amount of growth her team showed from the beginning of that week to the end, which made the loss of the season even more distressing. 
“I’m mostly disappointed about how much the kids are missing out on skill development,” Hoover added. “It’s just hard to work on those things individually, especially when they don’t have the motivation of being able to play.”
The seniors who had their last opportunity to play high school soccer taken from them include Frye, Jacob Rhoades, Payton Parks and Collin Dudzinski who each will leave some pretty big shoes to fill.
“These guys have played for a long time, some since they were four, so to miss out on their last season is really heartbreaking,” Hoover frowned. “And the cancellation also trickles its way down to the youth league who are also missing this opportunity for skill development.”
The class of 2020 has certainly been dealt a rough draw with this pandemic, so the cancellation of the spring sports seasons is just one more thing to add to their final year of high school.
“I feel really bad for the seniors,” Ostenson frowned. “Not just track, but everything else that they are missing out on in their final year of high school.”
The disappointment of losing the spring season is also foreshadowing the concern of what may carry into next fall. Will football, volleyball, cross country and girls swimming also be in jeopardy? Laird has admitted that discussions have taken place regarding the start of the 2020-2021 fall sports season, so it remains to be seen what the future will hold for high school sports in light of the pandemic.