Spring Athletes Gaining a Year of Eligibility

Spring sports at Bluefield College were set to kick off until the spread of the coronavirus forced the school to move classes online, and the NAIA followed soon after with the cancelation of all spring 2020 athletic activities.

No spring sports would impact seniors the most, and the majority of those players thought they had lost their final year of eligibility and would never get the chance to play again, but that’s when the NAIA decided to grant every spring athlete another year of eligibility in order to give them back the season they missed.

“The most difficult aspect was and still is thinking about what could have been,” said men’s volleyball player Carleek Owens. “I feel like we could have shocked a few teams heading into the post-season, but we will never know.”

Owens, a senior from Portsmouth, VA, said the team was already in mid-season form when the pandemic started and the season was canceled. He said he felt “terrible” about the end of the season because he was “just getting into (his) groove.” But now, he added, he looks at is as unfinished business.

“We were on our way to a conference tournament,” said men’s volleyball head coach Alfonso Alvarez. “We were hoping to play against some teams in our conference for the second time when we found out that our season was canceled. I mostly feel for the seniors. They didn’t get to finish what they had started, Senior Night, and a fractured season as their last.”

The NAIA rule that grants the added year of eligibility applies only to athletes from spring sports who were affected by the cancelation of the 2020 season. Owens said getting the year back was “amazing” because no one expected the season would be taken away from them the way it was. And while the decision, he added, showed that the NAIA cared, he’s not likely to take advantage of the opportunity to return for another senior season.

“I took a lot of time thinking about it, but I don’t think I will be using the extra year,” Owens said. “If I did use it, I would have to start a master’s program from here that I’m not interested in. I am a theatre major, and while business and teaching could help, I am really drawn to going to grad school for acting, not business or teaching, and they do not have it here. It sucks to not get the sense of closure on my college career, but it’s time to move on. God has a plan.”

Coach Alvarez said the he and the players missed out on more than the opportunity to finish the 2020 season. He said what he missed most is just being around the players, teaching them the game, helping them grow as people, and the long road trips with all the fun and laughter. He added that he’s thankful the players will have the chance to get those kind of memories back, thanks to the NAIA decision.

“The NAIA was very quick to decide this,” Coach Alvarez said. “They decided this way before the NCAA did. This decision was, for lack of a better word, fair. It’s only fair for the student-athletes to receive their four complete seasons of competition.”

Coach Alvarez said that every player is different, with different goals and needs. While some may use the year the NAIA granted them, others may want to focus on graduating, work after college, or earning a master’s degree, like Owens. Lastly, Alvarez explained what the team has been doing to stay in shape despite the social distancing restrictions.

“All student-athletes on the volleyball team have heard from me consistently since we went to remote learning,” the coach said. “We have had discussions as a team and individually about schoolwork. We have also had extensive talks about staying physically fit. They know that if they don’t, they will have a rude awakening come fall.” 

Spring sports weren’t the only teams affected by the pandemic. It affected fall athletics, as well. For example, the fall soccer teams spend a good majority of the spring semester working out to get in shape and ready for the fall, but social distancing restrictions ended all forms of spring workouts for the soccer teams. Sophomore men’s soccer player Devon Calloway said that it hurts to not have spring workouts simply because when the team is together they push each other and work harder.

“To stay in shape and connected, we have our team split into workout groups, and we send videos daily of us going through the workouts,” Calloway said. “We also just check in to make sure everyone is in good health and preparing for the upcoming season.”

The men’s soccer team also lost the opportunity to play its spring exhibition games, which Calloway said diminished the players’ chances of gaining more game experience with each other.

Overall, the coronavirus not only affected spring sports, but all college sports. Since the NAIA granted spring athletes with another year of eligibility, it is up to individual athletes as to how they choose to use it. Now the important thing for the athletes is to stay home, but to also stay in shape and prepared for their sport.