Conference Carolinas Postpones Fall Sports due to Coronavirus
Mary Margaret Ellison, Staff Writer
As of Aug. 15, Conference Carolinas made the executive decision to postpone all fall sports.
Since that day, the gym has been silent without practice, games or fans in the stands. The football field has been empty and untouched.
This is a very different time for athletes since this is the first season of many not playing. Kasie Thomas, NGU volleyball player, Bryson Capps, NGU football player and Jeff Farrington, head football coach all shared their feelings over the postponement of their seasons.
Thomas expressed her thoughts about the volleyball season being postponed. She was very upset about the news when she first found out, as she was very excited to get back to Tigerville to be with her teammates and to start playing the sport she loves. This is the very first season that Kasie has not been able to play volleyball, and she is starting her junior year at North Greenville.
Thomas mentioned the routine of iron week and playing together to get ready for the season, but that will sadly have to wait until next season. According to Thomas, “We are sitting back and waiting for everything to start.”
A couple of things that Thomas said that have helped her keep her head up since the postponement of the season are her mom and her volleyball friends that she came in with her freshman year. Thomas said of her volleyball friends, “We go out together and they keep me excited [about the season] and, of course, ‘masks up.’”
She also mentioned her mother who sends her nice packages. She added that her teammates and mother have kept her positive knowing that they will have a season in the spring.
Bryson Capps, linebacker, shared his opinion on NGU football being postponed due to the coronavirus. Capps doesn’t think that it is quite fair considering most Division I schools are getting to play and Division II is not.
He stated, “It goes to show the difference in funding between Division I and Division II. I want everyone to be safe, and I want the best outcome possible to come out of everything.”
Capps expressed that as long as the team is here and getting the opportunity to play in the spring, that is all that matters. The players are actually excited to have a chance to play in the spring. Capps mentioned that it will be like fall camp except it will be cooler than the hot turf in the summer.
He described how training and practice have been affected saying, “there are less people in the weight room and running, they have to wear a mask at all times and each player has to do a daily COVID screening.”
He added that all players have their temperature taken every time they use an NGU facility.
Jeff Farrington, head football coach, stated how he felt when he got the news about the season being postponed and what will happen moving forward this fall.
Farrington said, “It was disappointing to hear the news, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t.”
The way that things had seemed to be heading, the coaching staff knew there was a chance of postponement. The plan was to have a conference-only schedule whether it included home games or road games. The team was planning to move toward that, but fall camp also had to be delayed.
Farrington did mention a couple of the protocols that were going to be put into place as players start to train. The maximum number of players allowed in the training facility is 25. When the players are finished there will 15-20 minutes between each training group for deep cleaning. When the players get ready for training, their temperature will always be checked.
The opportunities the team will have even though they are not practicing or playing games right now will include collectively coming back together whatever the circumstances and protocols will look like. The coaches want their players to return as soon as possible when it is okay to train and gain the strength and conditioning explosiveness that they need.
Farrington mentioned, “Another opportunity for the players since there aren’t any games being played is for them to focus on having a good semester academically.”
NGU fans are hoping to be able to be back in the stands soon cheering on our fall and spring sports.
