Lost Opportunities

When NCAA and NJCAA officials announced the cancelation of all spring sports, and the winter sport tournaments, it affected the lives of millions of athletes in the nation. Athletes in winter sports lost out on playing in national tournaments that affect their chances of being seen by college and professional scouts. The spring athlete lost half or more of their season and tournaments. For some of these athletes there is always the promise of next season, but for a few the decision changes their future.

In the NCAA, many seniors in the winter and spring sports face an uncertain future. The upperclassman in the winter sports lost out on playing in heavily televised games such as March Madness. It is the biggest tournament for college athletes and for seniors it gives them a final hurrah and a venue to make their case to scouts and have a chance to play professionally. The spring athletes not only lost out on playing in tournaments such as the College World Series, but half their season was lost. Many upperclassman are stuck deciding if they will return, with the NCAA giving an extra year of eligibility to those spring sports athletes affected by COVID-19.

In the NJCAA, the sophomores find themselves in the same position as the seniors in the NCAA. Many in the JUCO level lost out on playing in the national tournament and a chance to impress college scouts. At the JUCO level players only get two years of eligibility and the tournament for sophomores is their last chance to extend their dreams and career of playing collegiate ball. With the tournament being cancelled, these sophomores are stuck in a sense of limbo trying to figure out if they are going to get another chance to play again or if their career are over.

Two Lea County players who find themselves stuck in this predicament are former Hobbs baseball player Devin Beard and basketball player Amaya Lewis. Beard, a 2016 Hobbs High School graduate, is a senior playing for Newman University in Wichitia, Kansas while Lewis, a 2018 Hobbs High gradaute, is a sophomore at New Mexico Junior College. Both had their seasons ended and look toward an uncertain future.

Beard spoke about what his first thought was when the NCAA cancelled the rest of the spring season and how it affected his future.

"It didn't really hit me at first," he said. "It took a little but of time. It kind of hit me when I came home and I thought that my entire career was over, and I didn't really know what to do honestly.

"I was home for a week and then we got word that the NCAA was going to give us another year. I would say a week until I figured out what I was going to do."

Beard looked at the NCAA giving spring players another year of eligibility.

"If it passes, I can really live with no regrets," he said. "I can't take a day for granted, because you never know when the last day is. We were fortunate to finish a game and some people didn't get to finish their game, so we were fortunate enough to be one of those that got to finish and we ended up winning and finishing on a high note. But going forward, if it passes, then all I can really do is continue to get better and see where it takes me in life."

Beard spoke what was being said in the clubhouse by other senior players and how even the coaches didn't know what was happening.

"There are a lot of people who have said that even if they get the year, they are not coming back due to having only a semester left in school or ready to start work," Beard said. "I would say it made a big impact on their decision to move forward or not.

"We were fortunate enough to end our game, so after the game they pulled us aside and were like we don't know really anything. We have a meeting with all spring sports tomorrow morning. We went to that meeting with our athletic director and our president, and basically they told us that everything was suspended. Then we all went home and they told us that it was cancelled. There was talk about it, but nobody really knew what to say or how to put it into words of what really just happened."

When asked to put this season and everything to happen into words, Beard said he really couldn't.

"I don't even know how to explain it," Beard said. "It kind of hits you like a brick wall honestly. At one point you are fighting, we just started our conference series on Friday, we were fighting for that and we ended up winning. We were getting ready to win the series the next day and they tell you its suspended, so we are like OK maybe in two weeks we will get back to it, then they tell you its cancelled. I don't know honestly it really hit me like a brick wall all at one time."

Beard is continuing his workout regiment, even if the season was cancelled. He plans to take the extra year of eligibility given by the NCAA, and has spent his time at home doing the workout he can. He does give advice to high school and college athletes to continue working out as the next season has not been cancelled and you don't want to comeback out of shape.

With all the free time coming from a losing the season, and not having professional games to watch, Beard looked at what he is missing most.

"What I'm missing most? I have to say it's playing," he said. "I don't know what to do without baseball. I tell my parents everyday that I'm home I'm so lost. I can do the whole school online, but without baseball that's really my life. I'm pretty lost without it honestly."

He added not having MLB games to watch makes it just as hard since he is relying on reruns of old games.

With the possibility of having an extra year of eligibility, Beard didn't hesitate to give his answer of playing another year. He also looked if COVID-19 will bring any changes to the game next season.

"If I'm given that extra year, I'll 100 percent take it," he said. "I don't think it will be handled differently. Maybe we don't shake hands after the game that's really it. But with in your own team, they will constantly worry about cleaning this, washing your hands, almost a germophobe type thing."

On Monday, March 30, the NCAA voted, and approved, to give all spring sport athletes another year of eligibility no matter what grade level they are in.

"I am blessed to receive another year of eligibility," the 2016 Hobbs graduate said. "I'm looking forward to getting back and seeing what we can do with a whole year."

Lewis may not have had her entire season, or even half of her season, cancelled by the NJCAA. Instead she had the chance to play in her second national championship tournament taken away. She spoke about what was the first thing that came to her mind when the tournament was cancelled.

"I was heartbroken," Lewis said. "I thought we were actually going to win it this year. At first they said it was postponed, and then a week later it was cancelled. I kind of expected them to cancel it because they had cancelled the NCAA tournament, and I didn't think that was fair."

For Lewis the national championship tournament was a great opportunity for her to showcase her skill against high quality opponents, on a neutral court, and in front of major college scouts. Without it, she looks at what she missed out on.

"I felt like I missed out on college exposure," she said. "Winning the national tournament and celebrating with my team, because we kept telling each other that we have to get to the end. We basically did all that work for nothing."

Looking towards her future, Lewis is unsure of what will happen next after losing out on the college exposure the tournament would have given her.

"I don't know how changed or affected my plans because I didn't get the chance to see what it will give me," she said. "SO I'm not sure if it was going to change anything for the better or didn't. I feel like I missed out on an opportunity to see what could have happened."

Currently she is not sure what her future holds due to the COVID-19. She is not sure if she will be given another chance to continue playing at the collegiate level, but she continues to work on her game. During the quarantine, Lewis has used the free time to workout and improve her game. She called it the highlight of her day, to work on her shooting, dribbling, and other aspects of the game.

Lewis added that losing out on playing the national tournament felt like they were robbed of having a real ending to their season. It is the reason why Lewis believes it's fair that the NCAA and NJCAA would only offer an extra year of eligibility to the spring athletes.

"We only had one week left," the 2018 Hobbs graduate said. "As far as spring sports, baseball and track, I feel like that they should get that extra year of eligibility."

Lewis admitted if she were given another year of eligibility, she would not hesitate to take them up on the offer.

"Yes," she said. "I feel like I need that extra year to develop my game anyway. So if they gave me a full extra year of eligibility, I would take that and run a mile. I would be so excited

In losing out on playing the national champiosnhip tournament, Lewis called the whole experience a weird ordeal.

"It was weird," she said. "When they postponed it, we were just practicing because it was the first thing. Our practice was not that serious, we where just doing light stuff. It felt like the season was already over and when they announced it was cancelled it was weird and but expected."

Once the tournament was cancelled Lewis said NMJC head coach Drew Sanders gave the team his end of his career speech. But the ending they received was not the ending Lewis or her teammates were expecting. This ending didn't go over so well for her.

"I felt betrayed," she said. "We won the most important games all season and we were real good winning those types of games and playing our best when it was time. I felt like we already thought we could win and we felt cheated that we couldn't finish it. And our season was lost and we went through so much as a team and we did get to end it. We kept on telling each other that we have a couple of weeks left and we couldn't get to finish it so it was like we pushed each other for no reason."

With the cancelling of the spring season, the NCAA and NJCAA are monitoring COVID-19 to see if it will affect the start of the fall semester and sports season.