Long Beach reflects on lost season

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It’s game over for public high school spring sports on Long Island for 2020.
Any hopes for even a modified season were dashed April 21 when health and safety concerns led athletic administrators and school superintendents in Nassau and Suffolk counties to announced the cancellation of the spring sports season.
“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 (Nassau) and Section XI (Suffolk) have made this very difficult decision.”
Administrators in both counties met over a 24-hour span beginning April 20 and felt it was important to react sooner as opposed to later. Even if public schools reopen, no sporting events will be held. A week earlier, Governor 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.
“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.”

Nassau County’s Athletic Council, which includes superintendents, principals and officials, met the night of April 20 and was unanimous in its decision. Athletic Directors met the following morning and were in total agreement.
“I understand the decision Section VIII made,” Long Beach Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics Arnie Epstein said. “This pandemic is greater than athletics. However, for our student-athletes it is devastating news. For our seniors, I am deeply sorry that this is how their high school athletic career has to end. As time goes on, it is my hope that they can look back at their time on a spring team with lasting memories of the bond formed with teammates and coaches.”
Senior captain Maggie Reznick was looking forward to a fifth girls’ varsity lacrosse season before heading to compete at the next level at Stony Brook University. She was a key part of Long Beach’s deep playoff runs in recent years under coach Rachel Ray. “Honestly it doesn’t feel real,” Reznick said. “It’s a shock. We had five days of tryouts and that was it. I think I accomplished a lot from eighth grade to now. I just wished I had my senior year and my teammates had their senior years to do more.”
Track and field coach Greg Milone said: “For many student-athletes, their senior year is the last time they will ever compete. It’s heartbreaking for their careers to end like this.”
Baseball coach Jason Zizza will have to wait another year to see how the Marines can match up against a new set of rivals in Class A after a drop from Class AA due to enrollment. “It’s a surreal situation,” Zizza said. “Fundamentally, this was going to be one of the better teams we’ve had in a while. We had such a great group of kids and now the wind is out of their sails. To their credit, they’re handling it so well. This isn’t a defining moment in their lives, it’s just a bump in the road.”
Jack Rand, one of 10 seniors on a close-knit roster, was planning to make more high school baseball memories before heading off to Ohio State University. “It’s really tough we’re not going to be able to play together for another year,” said Rand, who hopes to play during the summer. “We’re all best friends and it’s an emotional time.”