It's a year like none other. Much of life as we know it has been on hold for two months and that includes high school athletics in Mississippi. The impact on high school athletics began during Spring Break in March when Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency and extended the break by one week. Eventually, one week became the rest of the school year and at this time we cannot be assured that schools will open as scheduled in August. As far as the Mississippi High School Activities Association is concerned, no school means no sports or other activities. Spring sports stopped, with no championships in baseball, softball, tennis, golf and track. Actually, there were two non spring sports also affected. Championships for powerlifting and archery were canceled. Both were scheduled in April to culminate seasons that began in the fall for powerlifting and in January for archery. MHSAA also had to cancel a base fishing invitational at the Ross Barnett Reservoir that was supposed to culminate the first year of bass fishing as an activity. The Mid South Association of Independent Schools initially held out hope to resume spring sports, but ultimately joined MHSAA is cancelling almost everything. The one exception was the MAIS e-sports championships held in March after schools closed because competitors were able to participant remotely from their homes. Most affected were seniors who were unable to complete their high school careers. They also missed out on the final months of their high school careers, always one of the most exciting times in a young person’s life. No school means no senior prom or other memorable events. Some teams were left wondering what might have happened if 2020 had been a normal spring. McAdams was a contender to win state championships in both boys and girls powerlifting. French Camp (6-0) and Ethel (13-1) were off to fast starts in baseball as the top two teams in 1A according to the website MaxPreps. Kosciusko softball was 7-2 and ranked fourth in 4A with a chance to win a second state title in three years. East Webster softball was able to play only three games, but was unbeaten and fifth ranked in 2A. Louisville athletic director and football coach Tyrone Shorter said “When all of this I over, we’ve got to work our tails off. All of my coaches are talking to their players and keep encouraging them to do everything on their own. Our summer practices are going to be crucial for us so we’re going to be ready when that time comes.” Winston Academy football coach Pat Byrd said the loss of spring practice hurts because that is when most of the teaching is done. “You don’t have to worry about game planning, you just go out there and practice. As you get older, the practice become more fun than games. I love the two and a half hours we get outside because that is just us.” Nanih Waiya Athletic Director James Courtney said the shutdown was both surprising and frustrating. “I was surprised that we did not resume school,” he said. “It’s the world we live in though. “Hopefully we will not shut down school every time there is a bug going around from here on out. I understand the uncertainty around (COVID-19).” Noxapater principal Chet Wilkes said there was an obvious point where he began to see which direction things were going. “Whenever they started shutting down all of the college sports — March Madness and the baseball and softball College World Series — you knew then that it had gotten bad. “After we got a month in (of students being out of school) it was pretty much obvious that we weren’t coming back. Just coming back with three weeks left wasn’t going to be real effective.” Baseball is Grace Christian’s only spring sport. A young team had two wins, two losses and three rainouts when the season came to an end. “We have players who were off to a good start. It’s disappointing for them that the season was stopped,” said first-year coach Charlie Agnew. “I am broken and frustrated. An entire season lost,” headmaster Jason Morgan said. “Nothing we can do about it, but for the guys in our program, our three seniors especially, losing our season is really a rough deal.” The school has sought the input of seniors concerning graduation, but nothing has been decided. “The students stressed that they are willing to wait if it means having more people at their graduation.” Looking to the future, Morgan said “I want to think in the grand scheme of things, it has made our staff better and our students more responsible.”
