Spring sports for high schools, colleges get cancelled for 2020 season

By Steve Turcotte

OK, I will admit something right off the top. I coach the Highline College women’s golf team so I know exactly what the coronavirus did to both college and high school sports. As we prepared to get ready for our 2020 spring season, college sports around the country were told there would be no spring sports. No spring sports, therefore no college golf season.

I felt bad for my players on the team – two freshman and two sophomores. We had a solid fall season and everyone was looking to see how their golf games could improve during the spring season, which was consist of seven tournaments. But in March, the plug was pulled and golf and every other sport was put on hold. Not only were there no matches, there were no practices or any other type of get togethers. Spring sports were shut down completely.  But after some discussion at the national level, something good came out of it. All spring sport athletes from the Division 1 level to the junior college level, would not lose their eligibility. At Highline, my two freshmen will be freshmen athletically in 2020-21 and the sophomores will; be sophomores again.

It is only fair that they came up with this rule, to wipe out an entire season and not give the kids a chance to improve and perhaps move to the next level was not going to go over well. 

In the Pacific Northwest and around the country, the same was true with the high schools. Spring sports were all wiped out, although in Washington and Oregon they were both holding out hope for the longest time that maybe there could be a condensed season and the state championships.

But no dice.

This affected some ladies who will be playing golf at Highline for me next year. Both would have played in their state tournaments in Washington and Oregon, but with the spring sport season being cancelled, they will have to wait to get to Highline to play competitive tournament golf next fall. 

As a college golf coach, it is tough to sit and watch sports get taken away. The kids were excited about the spring season. Even at the two-year college level and the NWAC Conference that we play in at Highline College the tournaments are competitive and golf is both an individual and team sport. The spring season might have been taken away from the ladies but hopefully the fall season will put things back on track for all the college sports.

There was plenty that was affected by the coronavirus in terms of schools and spring sports. For the NCAA Division 1 teams, the College Baseball World Series in Omaha was scrubbed as was the College Softball World Series in Oklahoma City.

The NCAA Division 1 had a new golf set up for its championships this year with Grayhawk Golf Club in the Phoenix area serving as host for both the men and women. It was to be the first of a three-year deal where Grayhawk was to host both the NCAA Division 1 men and women at the same site.

Let’s hope that schools can get back to some normalcy this fall. It’s time for kids to get back on the golf course and enjoy college.