By Brady Cote
bcote2@springfieldcollege.edu
With only three short weeks left on Alden Street, student-athletes have been competing in their long-awaited spring sports seasons.
Similarly, student-athletes who play fall sports have also been patiently waiting for their next chance to compete. Brian Magoffin, Director of Athletic Communications, says that athletes who play fall sports will have a chance to play a couple of games this spring semester.
“I think that all along as an institution we have been trying to find ways to create opportunities for our student-athletes to compete. Certainly, when the decision was made in the summertime that fall sports wouldn’t have the opportunity to compete, we shifted our focus understanding that it was not going to be possible in their traditional seasons,” Magoffin said. “But if there was a way for the student-athletes to get an opportunity to wear “the jersey” at some point in the year, we were really focused on that. We are really hopeful that in the next couple of weeks, our fall sports teams will have the opportunity to compete.”
Not only has Springfield College adapted to the pandemic, but the NCAA Division III has made changes for all of the sports this unexpected year in sports.
Magoffin continued, “This year all athletic programs across the NCAA Div. III landscape have 114 days to train regardless of when their season starts. All of our programs have had similar opportunities to train under that 114-day umbrella. Although there have been stops and starts relative to quarantine and covid protocols, our coaches for our fall programs will have our student-athletes to compete when they are ready.”
Some fall sports have already started their games this spring as they get the chance to wear “the jersey” yet again.
“A great example is our men’s soccer team that competed last Friday. Coach Crabill and his guys were ready to go and pulled out a 3-2 win at Wheaton, which coincidentally enough was the last team they played two years ago on November 2, 2019, when their season came to a close,” Magoffin said.
Student-athletes that partake in fall sports are simply just itching to get back into the competitive nature of their respective games. Joe Maurer, a cornerback on the Springfield College football team, expressed his gratitude toward those who made their few games possible this spring.
“I think that it’s great that they were able to have some games,” he said. “I know some teams were just having their normal season as we can with COVID. Usually, we would have one game against another team, but instead, we’re going to have a scrimmage against each other. I think that it is good that fall sports are getting some sort of competition to get back in the swing of things.”
Regarding the rest of the football team, Maurer has confidence that their training in anticipation of their gameday has them well prepared for their upcoming scrimmage.
“We’re ready to go. The team is just waiting on its covid results so hopefully, everything comes back negative so we’ll be good to go. We just need to get through this week and then we’ll have our scrimmage on Friday against each other.”
Living on Alden Street, sports are an essential part of campus life. Although it is long overdue, the pandemic is finally rounding the corner with the finish line in sight. Now that the vaccine is available to most college students, it should bring some normalcy to the Springfield College community, allowing all sports seasons to continue with great success moving forward.
Photo Courtesy of Jack Margaros