None of the more than 200 Southern New Hampshire University winter and spring student-athletes that were still competing thought their seasons would draw to a close March 12. But no one could have foreseen the spread of COVID-19 forcing the Northeast-10 Conference to suspend competition until April 13 or the NCAA needing to cancel all winter and spring championships later that day. In keeping with state and federal public health guidelines, the NE10 extended its suspension through the end of the spring season of competition and canceled spring championships six days later on March 18. The NCAA approved a blanket waiver for all student-athletes participating in spring sports to be able to extend their eligibility for an extra year, but, depending on circumstances surrounding each individual student-athlete, the seniors may have not just seen their seasons cut short, but their entire careers suddenly wrapped up. While most people's thoughts were with the players and coaches whose seasons had just abruptly ended, everyone felt for the seniors that might not step foot on the field, court, green or stage again. With enough time passing for sadness to begin moving toward acceptance, we thought we would check in with our seniors from each affected team and let them, in their own words, talk about how they felt when they heard the news, how they have been keeping busy and what might be next. In our third installment, we hear from cheerleading senior, Maddie Young.
In these past few weeks, COVID-19 has changed my life. It took away my last trip to Daytona, Fla., for the college cheerleading national championship and forced me to end a 15-year-long chapter of my life that I wasn't quite ready to close yet. This season, in particular, has been a rollercoaster ride because our team was faced with a lot of adversity. From September all the way until our last week together in March (which was spring break), we overcame every obstacle that was thrown at us. The last practice the team had together was filled with hard work and success – we had gone full out and it was our first hit all season. But it was also filled with a lot of laughter, reflection about our time together and talks about how we had grown, individually, which is exactly how I want to remember my experience on the team.
I was at home when I first heard we wouldn't be going back to school for two weeks and that's when I knew it was over. My first reaction was to cry, which I imagine was the same thing that many other senior athletes did. After grieving for a little while though, I thought of Lynnie and Sam, the two other seniors on the team. I realized that I wasn't alone in being disappointed and decided that it'd be better to accept it as it is and keep moving forward as best I can – just as our team had done all season long. I am forever grateful to SNHU for an amazing athletic experience and leading me to my life-long best friends and the most amazing coaches I've ever had. As sad as I am to go, I'll hold my time as a competitive SNHU cheerleader close to my heart, knowing that I'm ready to take on my professional career in accounting with the lessons I've gained from being an athlete.
Thankfully, my hometown is close to SNHU, so I'm never really that far away and I know I'll be back to visit often. My family has been so supportive in this ever-changing time and I'm learning how to do the whole "remote learning" thing. In the meantime, I'll be quarantining, washing my hands and keeping a safe distance from everyone by hiking in my favorite place, the White Mountains!
-Maddie Young
Previous Installments
In Their Own Words: Maddy Barone (March 23)
In Their Own Words: Anthony Milano (March 24)
