High School Senior Athletes Speak Out
About Season in Jeopardy
Jack Scrivanic’s day sounds like any other typical day for a high school
athlete. He has classes until mid-afternoon followed by a workout. The
only difference is that the Red Bank Catholic senior is doing it all by
himself. The coronavirus has closed New Jersey schools and put the spring
helped RBC win the Shore Conference Tournament championship last spring,
is taking online classes from home. Instead of joining his teammates for what
Caseys expected to be another stellar season on the diamond, he is practicing
alone. He lifts weights and has a pop-up net in the backyard to keep his batting
swing in sync.
“It’s pretty sad that it had to end like this,” Scrivanic said. “It took us three
years to get here. We were looking forward to a big season after all the time
we put in and all the help our parents gave us.”
Scrivanic and his teammates stay in touch via Facebook, discussing how
they’re working out and motivating each other.
“We’re all doing our individual work,” he said. “We want to be ready if
there is a season.”
With their seasons at best on hold (NJSIAA at the time of publication had
not canceled the season), the seniors are looking out for the underclassmen
who may be losing a season but not their scholastic careers.
“I tell them, ‘Don’t take anything for granted,’” he said. “This shows that
a season can end just like that.”
RBC baseball Head Coach Buddy Hausmann noted that several of his
seniors like Scrivanic, who is headed to Wagner College in the fall, are set for
RE-DISCOVER DISCOVERY
22 MAY 2020 | TheJournalNJ.com
BY TIM MORRIS
college. Others are not, and
they are the ones foremost
in his thoughts of a lost season.
“Everyone from middle
school wants to play on
the varsity baseball team,”
he said. “I have four seniors
who have never played varsity
ball. This could be it for
them. It’s a shame.”
Saint John Vianney’s
all-state softball pitcher Julia
Parker was looking forward
to another championship
campaign before the
abrupt closing of school.
The Lancers are the defending
NJSIAA Non-Public A
state champions.
Parker said she is
throwing three days a week,
working on her repertoire
of pitches. She was 27-1 for
the Lancers last year. She’s
headed to Georgetown University to continue her softball career in the fall.
Colts Neck’s distance runner Natalie Shapiro is in a different position
than Scrivanic and Parker, who probably won’t have a senior season. She has
already competed during her cross country and indoor track seasons, but she
still feels the sting.
“The whole process of racing has been such a journey,” she said. “I can
tactically. As much as this hurts, I feel so lucky to have been part of championship
teams since my freshman year. I’m pretty lucky to have so much.”
Shapiro was looking forward to adding to her resumé. She and her sister,
sophomore Lilly Shapiro, were poised to earn All-American recognition
at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in the 4x1-mile and Distance Medley
relays. They had teamed up to win AA recognition last winter, but this year’s
meet was canceled.
What Shapiro will miss the most this spring, she said, is running with
her younger sister. She wanted one more go-around with her best friend before
moving on to Dartmouth College.
In the spirit of social distancing, there have been no team workouts because
runners cannot run in packs. Shapiro, fortunately, doesn’t have to work
out on her own.
“I’m lucky I still have my training partner,” she said.
She pointed out that there is a bright side even if there is no spring track
season. Heading to Dartmouth, she’ll have the most uninterrupted training
period of her career.
While these months have been, as Parker said “surreal,” the seniors
have not lost sight of the big picture. While potentially losing their athletic
seasons, senior prom and graduation hurts, they know it pales in comparison
to what the pandemic is doing to the country.
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American recognition at the New Balance Indoor
Nationals this spring.
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