59.0°,
Mostly Cloudy North Shore athletes distressed by spring sports cancellations
It’s game over for public high school spring sports on Long Island for 2020.
Any hopes for even a modified season were dashed Tuesday afternoon when health and safety concerns led athletic administrators and school superintendents in Nassau and Suffolk counties to announced the cancelation of the spring sports season.
The Section VIII athletics conference governs Nassau County, and Section XI, Suffolk County.
“For the safety for our student athletes, Section VIII has made the difficult decision to cancel spring sports for our high schools and middle schools,” Nassau County Executive Director Pat Pizzarelli said. “Long Island is one of the areas most affected by this terrible pandemic, so both section VIII and Section XI have made this very difficult decision.”
Administrators in both counties met last week and thought it was important to react sooner as opposed to later. Even if public school buildings reopen, no sporting events will be held. Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended New York state’s stay-at-home policies through May 15, meaning that school buildings will be closed until at least that date.
Nassau County’s Athletic Council, which includes superintendents, principals and officials, met Monday night and was unanimous in its decision. Athletic directors met on Tuesday and agreed.
Scott Lineman, coach of the North Shore High School Varsity Baseball team, said he knew the cancellation of the season was a possibility since March, although he and he players were trying to remain optimistic for a shortened season. He said he has been coaching for over 20 years, and not being able to do so this year is depressing.
“The guys were looking strong, they were focused,” Lineman said. “We were looking forward to competing against the strongest teams in the county, and it hurts us.”
Lineman said the cancellations are especially difficult on juniors and seniors. Many of his junior players were looking forward to showing off their skills to scouts this season, hoping to earn a spot on a college roster in 2021. He said his seniors, only three of whom will be playing baseball in college next year, will miss their “last hoorah” to play with friends they’ve had since their Little League days.
“All around,” Lineman said, “all of my players are extremely disappointed.”
“It’s very sad for the seniors, but we are dealing with life and death,” Pizzarelli said. “We have to safeguard our students and communities. We waited as long as we possibly could to make this heartbreaking decision.”
NSHS senior Will Scarola said he is lucky to be playing outfield for Hofstra’s baseball team next year and that, as upset as he is about missing the baseball season, he empathizes with fellow seniors who will not going on to play in college. This team is perhaps the strongest he has ever been on, he said, as this group of players have the chemistry to not only have a great time playing, but also to have a lot of success on the field.
Scarola said lacking closure is a big part of the team’s disappointment, as not only can they not finish out their high school careers on the diamond, but they also cannot spend time together, especially missing their weekly Sunday pasta dinners. Senior year is the year you wait for, he said, and not spending it on the baseball field is upsetting, especially considering many of the players have been together since childhood.
“High school baseball and high school sports are more about playing with the kids you grow up with,” he said. “I know life moves on, but high school sports are what you remember more than anything else.”
