Spring sports canceled: Sauk Prairie athletes and coaches sad to hear the news

For more than a month, they held out hope. They crossed their fingers and kept preparing for a season they knew might never arrive. Tuesday, the end officially came for high school coaches and athletes across the state. The WIAA’s Board of Control voted, 10-1, to cancel spring sports competitions and the spring sports tournament series. Spring sports coaches will still be allowed to coach virtually through the end of the state tournament for their specific sport.  Spring coaches were also given 30 out-of-season contact days — up from the typical five days — to work with athletes in July and August. Those days can’t begin, though, unless state and/or local guidelines allow. Coaches must also work with spring athletes currently in Grades 9-12. The WIAA’s decision came after Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers extended the coronavirus stay-at-home order through May 26. Evers’ mandate also closed schools and banned any extracurricular activities until at least June 30. While many have been expecting such a decision, the finality of it all certainly stung. “Like everyone else, our kids are devastated,” Sauk Prairie baseball coach Darin Pape said. “For many of them, baseball is what they do. For a few, it’s the only sport that they compete in. It’s who they are as an athlete.   “However, I know that as tough as we would have been on the diamond, we are just as tough and resilient in dealing with this adversity. I know that our kids are going to bounce back from this setback. They will overcome the grief that missing this season has them dealing with. They are tough, gritty kids. We will end the season undefeated at 1-0, when we beat Covid-19.” Eagles girls softball coach Shane Been agreed. “The athletes have been practicing weekly from the first week of the school year and were raring to go,” Been said. “The athletes are strong, but struggling. “For all of our returning athletes, we will never get to play on our field again due to the referendum. We were looking forward to honoring our past before it was torn down. In the end, we are glad to all be safe, but wish like everything that we could be together playing on the field.” The WIAA initially postponed all athletic participation following an executive order issued by Evers on March 13 that closed all public and private schools on March 18. That order put a premature end to the basketball seasons, which were still in their tournament series. Since then, spring sports teams have kept the faith they might be able to salvage some type of season. While teams haven’t been able to hold organized practices, athletes continued doing individual workouts and held virtual meetings with coaches and teammates. When Evers extended his stay-at-home mandate, many took the news extremely hard. “Governor Evers’ job first and foremost is to keep the people that he works for — the citizens of Wisconsin — safe and out of harm’s way to the best of his abilities,” Sauk Prairie girls soccer coach Drew Kornish said. “Surely moving the ‘Stay at Home’ order back this far will only keep people safer than if we were to come out earlier. For that reason, I appreciate his decision, as tough as I am sure it was for him to make.  “From a coach and educator standpoint, I’m crushed. To have the rest of the school year and likely the athletic season taken for us at no fault of our own fees like a huge injustice. These kids deserve better. Again, this is no one’s fault, but we still have the right to feel like we had something taken from us.” Been agreed with Kornish. “When Gov. Evers released the order, it was a mix of sadness, disappointment and finality,” Been said. “While intellectually one understands and supports the decision, emotionally it is hard. “For our seniors, it meant never stepping on the field as an Eagle again. For our underclassmen, they lost a fourth of their high school softball experience.   “As coaches, we love our athletes and being around them. The realization that we will not be able to compete together on the field began to sink in, and it hurts. I’m thankful for the time we spend in virtual practices and how amazing they are holding up, but it still hurts.” The WIAA was holding out hope that it could provide some type of season for its spring sports teams. But several road blocks crept up in the past week. First, the University of Wisconsin extended the cancellation of campus events through June 30. That meant state tournaments in boys golf, boys tennis and girls softball — which are all held on the UW campus — would need new venues. Then Evers delivered the death knoll, leaving the WIAA without any viable options to have a season. “My first reaction to the Governor extending the ‘Safer at Home’ order was disappointment,” first year boys golf coach Shane Frey said. “The past few weeks have been difficult. The original order to close schools was set to go through April 3. Golf had the latest starting date (April 6) of all the spring sports, so I was holding out hope we would be able to get back to school and have our full season.   “When the order was extended, I was still hopeful that we would have a partial season. Now that it is officially not going to happen I feel really bad for our athletes. As to be expected, the kids are disappointed.” Andy Sherman, who coaches both track teams, was just as distraught that he won’t see many kids in his classroom the rest of the year. “Hearing of this was crushing from a teaching standpoint,” Sherman said. “I miss seeing all of the kids and athletes I work with. Closing of school does not allow me to get the chance to have a chance for a proper good bye with my students.” While the loss of spring sports has been tough to digest, most Sauk Prairie coaches said their teams are handling it as well as could be expected. “I know that personally, I was crushed,” Pape said. “I thought it might happen, but tried to remain optimistic that we might be able to start at the end of April. “This ‘Safer at Home’ extension is much bigger than baseball. We all realize the nature of the situation. The focus is on getting people through this crisis. However, our hope was that baseball was going to help to begin our return to ‘normal.’ ” Added Kornish: “It’s hard, but they are there to support one another. This is a very close group that support each other. I have been really proud of the way they hold each other accountable to continue to work while still supporting their teammates through this tough time.”