When we first began our dialogue, it was somewhat a breath of fresh air for the both of us. In times like these, when you are holed up in your house it can seem like the outside world doesn’t exist. “Are you ready to go?” Abby Kerrins asks with a smile from behind her computer screen. She was glowing with more optimism than I expected, especially with the circumstances we were going to talk about and the situation we are all in. Looking behind her, pressed against her blue bedroom walls I could see the ribbons and plaques that she earned from her high school playing days. Now a freshman in college, her opportunity to make more memories and add to her collection had been sadly cut short. “Everything I had been training for all year was taken away in a day.” She said with a half-smile on her face. She could not have stated it anymore concisely and I could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke those words.
It was a couple days before spring break was ready to get underway. The softball team had already played four games and were very successful in those competitions. They were looking forward to their spring break trip together as a team. They would be able to compete and spend time together, which was for the most their favorite things to do. It was an exciting time for a very good team. Abby was glowing at this point, discussing the team not really mentioning herself at all. “We had seniors on the team who were on their way to breaking records,” She said in absolute awe. “Even if she got her lowest batting average of her 4-year career, she still would have broken records.” It was amazing to hear her speak about other people that way, it showed just how selfless and passionate she was about the sport she loved. The rumors of the virus started to spread around, and it threatened not only the closure of school but the cancelling of sports. At first, she didn’t worry much about the news going around. She didn’t think that it would apply to our school nor did she believe it was serious. Then the news came in that their flight had been cancelled due to the concern of spreading it further. It was a disappointing thing to have happen, but it was fine because they still had more games to look forward to. A day later while in practice, they had been informed that the NCAA had shut down collegiate sports. “The seniors were the first to hear the news,” She explained. “They couldn’t even come back in to tell us with the coaches.” The 6 a.m. practices, the team weight room sessions, and all the hard work they had committed was gone instantly. It was a very sad time for Abby, she struggled coming to terms with her first season being taken away by some virus, but she knew she had to look forward. The Wednesday of her spring break is when she read the email that Concordia was being shut down indefinitely. “It was surreal moment that everything was cancelled this semester.” She could barely believe that she wouldn’t be playing softball anymore, and now that she knew school was done it as well seemed unreal. With all this happening, she misses her team, she misses being around people and she’s going to miss the experience she lost.
A lot of people had something taken away from them when COVID-19 started to spread. Athletes from across the country, from every division to every level had all their pain staking hard work not pay off. They were not given closure and were left with what if and what could have been. They weren’t the only group taken from something, there were clubs doing work out in the community, and even people who were taken away from the jobs they worked so hard at. While lives have not been lost and stakes are not as high it still brings a level of pain because of the level of passion committed to sports. Even though COVID-19 claimed the start of her career Abby is still optimistic. “My biggest hope is that we will return stronger in the fall,” She said leaning forward towards the screen. “I’m not sure when this will end but I hope everyone can get healthy and doors will be back open in August.” It was amazing of her to sit down and talk openly about something that caused so much grief, hopefully we all can return to our normal lives sooner than later, until then stay safe.