MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Maybe it’s the product of cabin fever, but it’s more likely the spirit all great athletes and coaches embody that have pushed them into making the most of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s stay at home order.
Preston baseball coach Glen McNew Jr. and Morgantown senior runners Jackson Core and Athena Young are three people in completely different steps of their athletic lives, but all have one thing in common: They’re getting through this pandemic with hope and are persevering any way they can.
First, we start with the modern-day MacGyver. With the help of his two sons, McNew constructed a pitcher’s mound in the woods behind his house, as well as put up a batting cage in an old barn.
“My two boys, one’s 14 and one’s 10, both play travel ball, so I wanted to keep them doing stuff,” McNew said. “We’ve done everything. We’ve been hitting ping pong balls and doing footwork drills in the basement. We’re doing something every day just to stay sharp when or if they’re able to get back out there this year.”
McNew is fresh off a double-organ transplant surgery, having a kidney and his pancreas replaced. After finally being rid of Type 1 diabetes after 43 years, McNew was excited to get out on the diamond with his improved group of Knights, who were expected to be a powerful force in Class AAA.
McNew was wondering “if I was even going to be able to coach this year,” he said. “It got to the point where I could do that, and I was excited to get working with the guys again. We practiced on a Thursday – had the best practice we’ve had in four years – and that night, it was no more. The abruptness of it made it tough, but after a few days, you calm down and realize they’re making the right decisions.
“We had a group of seniors we thought we’d win quite a few games with, so it’s a disappointment for them. They’ve put a ton of work in and [thought] we’d do something special. But on the same mindset, it was the right decision. You can only get so upset about it. We’re keeping hope up, though. High school baseball, though we all love it, is very small in the grand scheme of things.”
Meanwhile, in the heart of Morgantown, Core and Young are part of the luckier group of spring athletes who don’t need equipment to practice with. Both distance runners, they’re making do with wooded trails and town sidewalks.
Further, both are also college signees, autographing the dotted line Dec. 18. Following a successful cross-country season for both the Morgantown boys’ and girls’ teams, Core signed with UNC-Asheville while Young signed on with the University of Kentucky. The two will be competing in cross-country and track, but still without a senior season to hang their hats on, they’re still looking for closure, albeit they feel lucky to have signed early.
“Honestly, I was immediately thankful I already signed,” he said. “It wasn’t scary to me until I heard the NCAA cut off all recruiting. I didn’t know what kind of opportunities would be open to me if I ran faster times in track season in addition to cross-country, and when all those wonderful people in North Carolina offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse in a place I love, I took it, and when everything hit the fan, I was very grateful.”
“I had gotten such a late start to my recruitment process and I was going to wait until spring to make my final decision, but I was convinced to do it in early December instead,” Young said. “I’m really glad I made that decision.
“I was hoping to create a big bang. I wanted to make my mark out there. We have a really good group of long-distance girls to make a relay and compete at New Balance Outdoors, and we were motivated and training for that. But now we might not get the opportunity. And I was looking forward to graduating at the state meet, but you know, I’m still hoping we have those opportunities.”
But living in the digital age, Core and Young can communicate with their teammates and stay up to date on how everyone is doing – including those who rely on equipment to hone their skills.
“I do miss my team to death and I knew that was going to be the hardest thing about this. We’ve all got personalized workout plans to stay healthy and fit,” Core said. “I’ve talked to my friends and the ones who are participating in events that require equipment, they’re doing everything in their power to lift and stay in shape that way the next time they get the opportunity to [participate in their event] they can do that.”
“It’s really unfortunate,” Young said. “The shorter distance [runners] training is so different, it’s mainly weight stuff and practicing hurdles and with the tracks being closed they just don’t have the opportunity while long-distance can go out for a run. I have a friend who’s going to a be a freshman with me at Kentucky and she currently lives in the Bahamas, and they’re not allowed to leave their house. She’s not able to train right now, so I assume they’re taking a break but trying to do as much at home stuff as possible.”
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