The past several weeks have been a mixed bag of emotions. From the cancellation of the NCAA Indoor National Championships, learning the NCAA Outdoor Championship is canceled then later the announcement from the Missouri Valley Conference office that the entire season was gone. Just like everyone, our staff wanted answers but no one had them. Never in my life have I been in a situation that your entire life was on hold and the direction it took changed minute by minute. Not only did we have a team of over 100 student-athletes life's get turned upside down but my 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son sports came to a standstill as well.
We had a team meeting on Saturday morning to talk about the next steps and what we would be doing as a team. The hardest thing was to look at the seniors knowing that they would most likely never put on the Sycamore blue again. Even though the NCAA will grant waivers for the student-athletes, most of the seniors have jobs lined up or grad school to attend at another university, it was extremely hard to see them emotional knowing that their track careers were finished.
In the grand scheme of things, the safety of everyone is the most important thing. We get so focused on what's in front of us and the works we live in we sometimes forget about the bigger picture. I am looking forward to spending time with my wife and kids. I can tell you that the Sycamore Track/XC Family will certainly be on my mind and what could have been during the 2020 outdoor season.
Be safe!
Jeff Martin
Indiana State University, Associate Head Coach