This article won first place in the 2021 Michigan Interscholastic Press Association spring awards ceremony.
The cancellation of high school spring and club sports due to COVID-19 came with roadblocks in the college athletic recruitment process.
On May 13, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that the dead period for recruits would be extended until June 30. This means that there cannot be any in-person contact between players and coaches, and athletes are not allowed to visit college campuses.
Prospective student athletes sometimes rely on campus visits to help with the college decision making process. Without them, it may be hard to know where they want to end up.
“You get a really in person view of what it would be like to be a student athlete at that school while being present on campus,” Grand Valley State University’s women’s lacrosse coach Mackenzie Lawler said. “So it’s tough to not have that in person feeling because that’s kind of how recruiting has always been done in the past.”
The cancellation of spring sports poses a big challenge for athletes in the class of 2020 who want to play in college.
Senior varsity baseball player Kolbe Vandenberg verbally committed to Adrian College as a walk-on to the team. This came after not being able to play his junior year due to an Achilles tendon tear.
baseball since his sophomore year due to an
Achilles tear.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.
“[The injury] was really difficult mentally and physically. The first time I heard the news was very difficult because I had never been hurt before,” Vandenberg said. “I had never missed a season before either.”
Since the last time he was able to take the field was his sophomore year, the 2020 season would’ve closely resembled how he’d play in college.
“It was crucial to know I could do it, and [to] know I was worth it, as cliché as that may sound,” Vandenberg said.
After learning the spring season was canceled, senior varsity lacrosse player Jaryn Cleveland was upset she couldn’t play her final season as a Wildcat. But sadness wasn’t the only emotion she was feeling.
“I started to get worried about my chances to play in college because I wasn’t able to have college recruiters come watch me play,” Cleveland said.
lacrosse game in spring 2019. She played
volleyball along with lacrosse.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.
Cleveland wants to continue her lacrosse career at Aquinas College, but nothing is official as of now. If she gets the opportunity to play in college, she has dreams for her seasons to come.
“My hopes are to be able to bond with the girls on the team and meet new people,” Cleveland said. “Also, learning new techniques and skills from another coach to help my performance as a player.”
Junior athletes are also being affected by the spring sport cancellations. Now they only have their senior season and possibly one more club season to play and be recruited.
This is the situation varsity junior soccer player Jocelyn Hendricks is in. Now that her season is canceled, she has one last club and high school season left to try and catch scouts’ attention to continue to play the sport she loves in college.
“My passion for [soccer] is so strong, [that I wouldn’t want] to just not play in college,” Hendricks said.
before a soccer game in 2019. She has played
on varsity since her freshman year.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.
Like many other athletes who are going through the uncertainty this season is bringing, she is nervous about how her recruitment will play out.
“I am worried I won’t be able to have the chance to show them what I’ve got, but I know I just have to trust the process,” Hendricks said.
Spring sports aren’t the only sports being affected. April is a big recruiting month for basketball players who play travel basketball because of the “live period” where college coaches can watch them play in person. But due to COVID-19, those tournaments have been postponed.
Sophomore varsity basketball player Jalen Charity is among those who are going through the challenges of the basketball recruitment process.
“Since we have been on lockdown for a while now, recruiting has been a struggle. Travel basketball could have a possibility of making a return but [I’m] staying on the safe side to be prepared for the worse,” Charity said.
in February during his first season on varsity.
He started playing basketball when he was five.
Photo courtesy of Tom Reynolds.
High school basketball players can only play club basketball through their junior year, so the postponement of tournaments causes big issues for juniors and sophomores who want to have the best opportunity of recruitment.
“If travel basketball does not resume this season, I will only have one year left of solid recruitment,” Charity said. “For basketball players, [COVID-19] is taking away a whole year of exposure.”
While there is still uncertainty regarding recruitment, one thing is certain.
“The timing might be different and how we recruit might be different, but we will want to be recruiting players,” Grand Valley State University’s women’s lacrosse coach Mackenzie Lawler said. “Just know that you are going to have enough time to make a great decision and end up at a great four-year college.”
