ABILENE, TX – AHS Tennis Head Coach Stacy Bryan said, “I told the kids goodbye for spring break not having any idea that I wouldn’t see them again.”
CHS Baseball Head Coach Cody Salyers said, “I got the news at 10:30 PM the night before we were supposed to have our first home game. Everybody at the time was excited about getting on the new field and playing for the first time in front of the home crowd.
The Abilene High Tennis program and Cooper Baseball program were both prepared for strong 2020 seasons in their respective sports until COVID-19 forced their seasons to end before they truly started.
AHS Sophomore Holland Wiggins said, “It was really weird to have the season cut short, it felt so unfinished. There was no closure in the school year.”
Bryan said, “This team was probably one of the best varsity teams I’ve ever had and we made history.
In the fall, the AHS Tennis team won district and made the regional tournament for the first time since the new UIL playoff format, handing them the 15th overall ranking in Texas. In the spring, they missed missed two tournaments, district, and postseason. For the Cooper Baseball team, their senior class didn’t even have a chance to play a relevant game on their brand new turf field.
CHS Senior Jackson Keefer said, “A brand new field with turf, we loved it. It was a shame to see such a beautiful field just get wasted.”
Salyers said, “Whenever the coaches are telling you to play like it’s your last day it now holds a little more weight now than it did in the past.”
Losing their seasons certainly made both teams excited to return on Monday. However, shaking off the past few months will not be easy.
Bryan said, “It brings a whole new level of love when it’s taken away from you.”
Salyers said, “It left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.”
Wiggins said, “I think I kind of have a new appreciation for it.”
Keefer said, “You’ve got to wash it out of your mind and just get ready for the season.”
