Seniors, I’m here for you and I want to help

There will be no ting of bats, or smack of leather.

Uniforms will stay pristine.

Guns won’t signify the release of young men and women as they run in a counter-clockwise oval.

Hurdles won’t be hurdled. Jumps won’t be long, nor high. Shots won’t be put and discs won’t soar through the air.

Nor will there be the sound of a solid golf stroke, the clanging of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup or the sweet noise of a racket hitting a tennis ball.

The sun will still shine, but it won’t gleam down on athletes across the state participating in spring sports.

Shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday, the IHSAA?released a statement canceling the spring sports season (see related story).

The decision came hours after Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick announced schools will be closed for the remainder of the school year.

McCormick’s announcement was a striking blow for seniors who will no longer get to look forward to a few milestone days left on the calendar: a senior skip day, prom, the final day of school and commencement.

Jay Schools superintendent Jeremy Gulley is adamant prom and graduation will still happen, albeit on a different date than originally planned. But when those events occur, it just won’t feel the same.

If canceling school was the stunner, a short time later came the knockout punch.

Athletes were holding out hope they’d get to participate this season, even if on an abbreviated schedule. There was still optimism there would eventually be games, meets and matches.

Those same seniors who were anticipating those momentous activities in relation to the academic calendar now have a host of other lasts taken away from them.

No last first day of practice. No chance to lace up the cleats, spikes or shoes for the final time. No opportunity to button down the uniform, make a run for a sectional title or walk down the 18th fairway one last time.

Bus rides. Team meals. Celebrations. Competitions.

All gone.

Seniors. I feel for you. And I’m here for you.

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, better known as SVP, started on his edition of SportsCenter in March a “Senior Night,” segment; a nod to college and high school athletes who had their careers cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

Just this week, Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star started his own version.

Now it’s my turn.

Seniors, you’ve had your senior year taken away from you.

For a very few, there will still be games in the future as they go on to compete at the collegiate level. But a vast majority of the seniors played their last game without knowing it was going to be the final one.

And perhaps most heartbreaking of all, the athletes nor their parents won’t get recognized on senior day.

That’s where I come in.

Seniors, you deserve your time in the limelight, to get recognized for your athletic and academic achievements.

It just so happens I have an avenue to help you get it.

So let me help.

Reach out to me — I’m easy to find on Twitter and Instagram, or just drop an email to [email protected]. Let’s chat about your athletic and academic careers. We can talk about what all this means to you, what you’ll miss most about competing with friends and what plans you have for the future.

My only stipulation is you let me tell your story.

Everyone has one — a story — and yours just got a bit more interesting and complicated.

Let’s talk. I’m here for you. And I want to help.