Students at Frankford high school, like every student in the country, are devastated that their last sports season is canceled. I interviewed six students and coaches from Frankford about how they are feeling losing their last sports seasons.
Cierra, a senior at Frankford who is supposed to be graduating in 2020 was really looking forward to playing her final season. She was one of the best players on the team. She dedicated her life to the team and she was counting on making her last season of high school softball her best. She is devastated about not being able to see that through. “Well tbh, I feel heartbroken and empty. Because knowing in the future when I look back, all I’m going to remember is how I didn’t get to play the best sport in my life with the best girls in my life. It makes me sad that my last year of high school didn’t go exactly as I imagined it.”
I also spoke to a Haja Bah, a senior at Frankford. She stated:
“Losing my senior year is like a nightmare. This was the part of high school to remember. Our prom and Graduation may be canceled and it hurts knowing my family may not get to see me walk. For some of my peers, this may be the highlight of their life because college is not on their timeline and it sucks that we won’t get to experience these things.”
The last senior I spoke with was Baxter Peterson, a senior lacrosse player. Peterson was looking for this season to be his “breakout season.” He said:“I’m devastated. I feel as though my heart was ripped from my chest when I heard the season was canceled but all things will turn out well in the future.”
This is also very sad for coaches because the bond between a coach and their players is very special. They are now missing on memories that they would have made with the seniors. Coach Michaels coached boys tennis and girls basketball at Frankford. He was dedicated to making sure his team was on point and ready for the season to start.
Michaels says, “I think it’s something that’s necessary. I also feel very disappointed for all of the athletes that can’t play but especially for the seniors. There is nothing in the world like playing your senior season. You make memories you never forget. They lose their senior day which is really a shame...Hopefully, we get back in time to at least give all the seniors a senior day.”
Coach Lankford is the coach for Frankford’s Students Run Philly Style team. She is one of the most thoughtful and joyful coaches I have ever met. She's been running almost her entire life, and she has completed several marathons and had plans to complete them with her team again this season. She and her team trained for the 8k run in April and it is awful that they could not do that this season.
Regarding the closing of schools due to COVID-19, and thus an end to her season, Lankford said: “similar to everyone else in the world right now, we were disappointed with the unexpected change in plans. The season ended abruptly before it truly began. We had had three weeks of practice and had developed a cohesive unit; we’ll have to start from scratch when the quarantine lifts. It’s especially disappointing for the seniors who won’t be able to make up this season.”
I also spoke to Coach Lisa, my softball coach at Frankford. I admire how much she cares about the softball team, and how much hard work she put into building the team together. “The season being canceled is heartbreaking. As a new coach anticipating that the first season to start was so exciting. So much hard work was already being put in and off the field. Seeing and hearing the disappointment in players and not being able to come up with a game plan is the hardest. I can't help but feel cheated out of what could have been a GREAT first Softball Season.”
I can't imagine how seniors and coaches must feel about losing their senior year and their sports season. All I can do is hope that everything turns out well for them in the end.
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