When I agreed to be a coach with Cambridge High School, I was elated about the opportunities ahead. It was initially a little different because I had competed against them for at least the past five years while coaching other teams.
Fresh off a state runner-up finish for the girls team the past season, I was excited to retool and reload for a chance to compete for a state title. I began to build a relationship with the returning veterans (and fellow coaches) and looked forward to welcoming newcomers and incoming freshmen (particularly because we all would create experiences together).
The season started with promising big meet results in the Archer Invitational and Milton Showcase. Then, the track and field world as we knew it ground to a halt with the COVID-19 suspension of the remainder of the season. All were devastated, but understanding. The promising season was over. To this day, I wonder what would have been. I wonder which of our athletes would have competed for an individual state title. I wonder whether we would have competed for the elusive state team title. I wondered how the freshmen felt. With the NCAA granting an additional year of eligibility to their athletes, I wondered how many of the seniors may have lost collegiate recruiting opportunities. I, and the world, just wondered.
The 2021 season arrived with much anticipation, along with a number of unknowns. Would many of the athletes return after the COVID pause? Did we lose some to transfer? The answer for us, thankfully, was that many returned. We worked hard that year with the boys winning the region and the ladies finishing fourth, but we were not able to advance enough athletes to state to make a measurable team impact except in a few events. Nevertheless, we were happy to have completed a full season.
The 2022 season turned out to be a positive one in the process…
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