Lonestar Conference publish schedules for postponed season, teams ramp up preparation
Freshman Katelyn Smith strikes a ball on the Lewis-Chen Family Field on campus. The midfielder is part of the women’s soccer team at St. Edward’s that last year had an overall record of 13-7-2.
Back in August, St. Edward’s President George Martin announced that fall sports such as volleyball, women’s and men’s cross country and women’s soccer will have a delayed season. Four months later, the Lonestar Conference published the schedules for the postponed seasons to finally take place. Head women’s soccer coach Nick Cowell was more than ready to hear this news.
“This is a huge improvement. Not knowing whether there would be a season or not is like playing golf without holes. We were just wandering around in a field looking for a purpose,” Cowell said.
Even though the season was delayed back in August, this didn’t stop the women’s soccer team from practicing. Coach Cowell said that even though COVID-19 delayed their season, they still practiced five times a week.
“We have tried to provide a positive learning environment in the fall where we come together and practice as a team, learning team values and expectations on and off the field,” Cowell said.
With the team’s preparations this fall, Cowell is worried about the nine weeks that players will have off for Thanksgiving and winter break.
“The players will have to challenge themselves and become self trainers to make sure they don’t lose the conditioning and soccer skills they have built up during the fall semester,” Cowell said.
Though these sports teams are finally getting the season they deserve, coaches can’t help but feel sad for the senior students graduating in December whose last chance to play was this fall. Cowell expressed that he will miss their top seniors, Eli Chavez and Annabel Sweeney, who are graduating this semester and going off to play in the UK next year while they get their masters degrees.
Even with seniors graduating, Cowell feels fortunate enough to be able to continue working with the athletes. He feels as if it has helped theirs and the coach’s mental health all around.
“The soccer field is a place where the players can relax, train hard and put away their worries about the pandemic, the election, the environment, their families, etc,” Cowell said.
With safety protocols in place at practice such as wearing masks, sanitizing all the equipment, and social distancing, the team is more than ready to start playing this season. As long as they continue to follow the guidelines that are put in place, this season will be one to remember.
