Ivan Palacios | THE RIDER
The Western Athletic Conference made the decision to not participate in fall sports on Aug. 13. The news, while disappointing, did not come as a shock to coaches and players at UTRGV.
“As pieces started to fall there the last couple of weeks, I think our girls kind of had that sense,” said UTRGV Volleyball Coach Todd Lowery. “We had talked about it as a group throughout the summer that it was a possibility and what it would look like. So I don’t think anybody was overly shocked. I think still when that news comes there is a little bit of reality that sets in.”
“We all had a feeling it was coming,” said UTRGV Men’s Soccer Coach Paul Leese. “It was a sense of confirmation when we did get the WAC announcement, but a big sense of disappointment.”
Senior volleyball player Jackie Kingsbury had a mix of emotions leading up to the cancellation. Kingsbury tried to remain optimistic despite the doubts surrounding the season.
“Whenever coach was like ‘Oh y’all should come back’ and I was like OK this may get up and running soon,” Kingsbury, an outside hitter, said. “But of course you have those little doubts of would we be able to make it through the whole season and things like that.”
Senior men’s soccer player William Akio remained optimistic despite the disappointment of the cancellation.
“A lot of the boys and myself included were kind of gutted,” Akio, a forward, said. “I still feel good because [I’m going to] still have a lot of things to do. I’m still keeping busy. And you know I’m just staying positive. That’s the most important thing.”
After being sent home in March amidst the pandemic, Kingsbury took some much needed time off to allow herself to prepare for the road ahead.
“Over the past two months, I took a little break when we were let off in March,” Kingsbury said. “I let myself recharge and physically let my body rest cause we were just go, go, go.”
Now, with the fall season officially canceled, Kingsbury has shifted her attention to preparing for a possible spring season.
“Really all we can do is wait and try to make the best out of the time that we have from now in August until January and February,” Kingsbury said. “If we are doing all the right things such as practice, the weightroom and eating, we should have a pretty good outcome by December being ready for the spring season.”
Despite the uncertainty, Akio also remains ready for whatever the future brings for the soccer season.
“It’s a time in our lives that we can use to better ourselves,” Akio said. “But at the same time still be focused on the goal. Still be ready mentally for anything because you know the season could have been on and I could have been ready cause I’ve been training these last four or five months.”
Along with the challenges faced by the cancellation of the season, players must also deal with the challenges brought forth from the pandemic itself. Finding ways to stay busy outside of sports seems to be the most challenging.
“We’ll play Fortnite or Warzone,” Akio said. “That’s actually very fun because it’s just a little side for us to kind of have our own little fun. So that’s been the biggest one so far.”
Kingsbury said that she’s not really one to stay home.
“But when that’s the only thing you can do, it’s pretty rough,” she said. “With that, probably just staying mentally in tune with yourself and just trying not to think so negative when negative is all that’s around us right now.”
With so much negativity surrounding the cancellation of fall sports, coaches and players alike look on the positive side of it. With the season being possibly delayed until the spring, teams will now have a larger window to prepare and help new players adjust to the college level.
“In my 17 years of coaching I’ve never had a new group that I have three months to get ready instead of two weeks,” said Lowery. “As many negatives [as] there are, there is a handful of positives that kind of make it exciting.”
Leese said the team additional time to adjust.
“For the first time ever during the fall they will have a period where they can adjust and integrate into the team,” Leese said. “This will give us an opportunity to work with our new players, integrate them into the team, and hopefully be stronger.”
While preparing for a possible spring season, Akio and Kingsbury both look ahead to their futures beyond UTRGV.
“Of course I don’t want to just push off my future until it’s time,” Kingsbury said. “My major is criminal justice so I feel like there will always be a need for law enforcement whether it’s local or federal. But right now I’m really just trying to roll with the punches.”
Akio said it’s tough to say what his future will look like.
“I’m just 100% focused on staying healthy,” he said. “Staying fit. And just continue to train every single day. Make sure my grades are good cause at the end of the day that’s what I came here for and as long as I have those done, everything else will fall into place.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing more uncertainty than answers, coaches remain focused on being there for their athletes.
“Your team is your family,” said Leese. “I know that we will all benefit from that support that we get from each other. To keep working. Stay positive. Be focused on everything that is good in your current situation and help stop you from focusing on the negative distractions.”
One thing is certain though, these players are resilient and are ready to face whatever obstacles this year may bring.
