https://twitter.com/PHScoachSellers/status/1242993416574775297?s=20
“It’s up to us to stick together as a school community and pick up the pieces that are left.” – Coach Jason Sellers. Like many spring sports, the girls’ soccer season has been put on pause with no unpause in sight. The Pattonville School District made the tough decision to send students home after March 17 due to the Coronavirus, one day before Pattonville’s varsity girls’ soccer team hosted their annual preseason jamboree.
For all players on the team and in the program this struck hard because this break has deprived the girls of a chance to develop their skills, make memories, make friendships, and much more. Even though this is a rough time, Coach Jason Sellers was determined to keep the team talking.
The team has stuck together by creating videos to bring joy during this tough time. Coach Sellers has posted two so far, a toilet paper juggling video and a Full House parody on Twitter. “We want to make memories. So that’s what we’ve tried to continue to do,” Sellers says when asked why he thinks it’s important to keep the team talking. By doing activities and making videos, the team still has a connected feeling from the safety of their own homes. Teammates continue to come up with ideas on how to have a fun time and stay together. “We’ve been through tough times before as a family, and we have persevered,” Seller adds.
On April 9, however, all schools in Missouri announced that the rest of the school year would be continued online and that all in-person classes would be canceled. Following this announcement, the Missouri State High School Activities Association, or MSHSAA, released a statement saying that all spring sports would be canceled. Most, if not all, athletes are frustrated and angered by this whole situation, especially seniors, since their last season of their high school career has been ripped out from underneath them.
Captain Emily Schrumpf was going to have her fourth and final year on PVS. Schrumpf said, “I’ve watched three other groups of seniors finish out their last year with Senior Night and hugging and bawling with everyone after the whistle blows in the last game.”
Even though this is a difficult time, the girls still seem to stay upbeat by having weekly Zoom meetings and creating content the whole community can enjoy. When asked how this pandemic has affected spring sports, Sellers suggests that, “We are going to see a different landscape in high school sports. It’s a very unsettled time, and I can see changes coming up.”