One word described the feeling of Muskingum University coaches and student-athletes when they found out the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) canceled the 2020 spring sports season. Shock.
The OAC decided to cancel all spring sports because of the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic affecting the United States and the world.
Director of Track & Field Operations and Cross Country Head Coach Jacob Gleason felt a feeling of sadness after the announcement but understood the urgent nature of the situation and communicated that to the outdoor track team.
“Disappointed, I guess, would be my first reaction to it and kind of surprised that it happened so quickly…. As soon as we heard word, we gathered the group together, sat down, and we had a discussion and explained the situation and stressed the severity of this,” said Gleason.
Overwhelming emotion filled the meeting room as the team met for the final time without competing in a meet.
“There were some laughs, and, of course, there were a lot of tears, but there was some story-telling that was going on…there was some really good reminiscing about some of the memories that they created here, and I thought that was unbelievably difficult and sad, of course. But I felt really good as a coach that those kinds of things were coming out at this time, and I thought that was really nice,” said Gleason.
The meeting with the team was brief, though, as the focus quickly shifted to the seniors on the squad who wouldn’t get the opportunity to compete in their final season or have a senior day.
“Right after that, we had to recognize our seniors because we had some wonderful seniors, and we wanted to make sure that we sent them off in the best way that we possibly could in that situation. This was about celebrating the three and a half years that we had with those individuals,” said Gleason.
Gleason knows the decision the OAC made was not an easy one to make, and it required a thorough exploration of all options.
“This wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. There was a lot of discussion amongst all of the OAC schools and, of course, the presidents, athletic directors, and all the different constituents involved to make this decision. This wasn’t something we took lightly,” said Gleason.
Even though the coronavirus has quarantined most people to their houses, Gleason’s job as a coach continues.
“Life goes on. There are plenty of things to do. I still have the recruitment of this class. I still have the evaluation of the next class,” said Gleason.
Gleason acknowledges that recruiting athletes is now far more challenging due to spring sports being canceled at the high school level, as well.
“One of the things that we value is seeing a young person develop over their four years at high school. That tells us a lot about what type of athlete we feel they can be, and there’s going to be a gap there now. So, that makes it a little tougher now, to be honest, particularly in a performance-based sport like ours,” said Gleason.
As far as taking care of his current athletes, Gleason believes that is the most important thing his staff can do during this pandemic.
“They’re emotionally exhausted…I’ve encouraged our group to take a little bit of time off and rest a little bit, spend some time with some family…recharge the battery physically, emotionally, mentally, and then, we’re going to talk to them about how we want to proceed forward,” said Gleason.
Gleason and the rest of the track & field program are disappointed that the OAC canceled the entire spring sports season but understood the gravity of the situation.
Although the 2020 spring sports season is canceled for Muskingum Athletics and the rest of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), there is an eagerness to get back to work for the 2021 season once the coronavirus dissipates.
Listen to Coach Jacob Gleason on the October 18, 2019 Muskie Sports Blast aired on WMCO 90.7.
