On
March 11, USA Volleyball recommended that all sanctioned events scheduled through March 22 be postponed or canceled over concern about slowing
the transmission of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the nation. The Pacific
Northwest Qualifier in Spokane was the first to announce its cancellation. The
Mideast Qualifier in St. Louis and Indianapolis, the Windy City Qualifier in
Chicago, Crossroads II in Denver and Show Me I in Kansas City have all followed
suit. Others are likely to be canceled in the coming days as well.
These are, indeed, difficult times; a period in each of our lives that we will
remember forever. If you were affected
by any of the cancelations or will be by any forthcoming decisions, it is fair
to be angry and upset at opportunities lost, while at the same time recognizing
that containing the spread of the virus is something bigger than any athletic
competition.
At PrepVolleyball.com, we are currently coming to grips with our new reality. Not
only did we have to cancel our Crossroads Recruiting Showcase at the cost of tens
of thousands of dollars in revenue and tell 385 players that they would not be
able to impress college coaches with their abilities, we also won’t be
traveling in the short term to cover and report on all of the exciting
qualifier action across the country. That lies at the heart of what we do each
spring.
What will happen next? For any of us? That is the big unknown. We know that
five qualifiers have been canceled and other qualifiers and major events likely
will be soon. The lost revenues will be enormous, the lost opportunities even
greater; and the impact — on college volleyball programs, which rely on these
events to recruit players to their programs; on volleyball clubs and their
coaches and administrators, for whom this is a fulltime focus; on referees and
sport court suppliers and untold others — will be wide-reaching and
devastating.
What we don’t know is whether there will be a 2020 club season going forward or
a Junior National Championships or AAUs or whether the season will be wiped
from the books with one fell swoop of a rubbing alcohol-based sanitizing cloth.
At present, all we can do is hope. Hope that the coronavirus does not spread as
rapidly or as comprehensively as some predict. Hope that our immediate families
stay safe and that those in our extended communities and the country as a whole
do as well. Hope that our emotional healing comes quickly once the immediate
threat of infection starts to wane and that our financial healing comes quickly
as well.
In these unusual times, we are reminded of how wonderful normalcy can be in our
everyday lives. We don’t need volleyball to live, but it is part of who we are
and what we do. It’s only been a few days, but we feel its loss and long for
its return for myriad reasons, but primarily to reassure us that everything will
be okay.
It is okay to feel anger because of how the pause on club volleyball
competition affects our plans or our futures or those of our children. At the
same time, however, we need to trust that decisions are being made in the best
interest of the greater good. Quoting Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com, who wrote a
brilliant piece yesterday, “It’s not about the risk any one of us in particular
faces, but how we take responsibility for the care of our communities. It would
be awful if a game we all love turned into a venue for harming our communities
by spreading this disease.”
Hold your loved ones close. Take deep breaths. This too shall pass.
