Soccer seniors: no chance to step up
Local boys soccer head coaches react to the cancellation of the 2020 TSSAA high school season.
Ryan Radcliffe of defending Class AAA state champ Bearden Bulldogs: “You’re heartbroken and upset for the fact that a lot of these seniors, they may never play organized soccer again. That’s the hardest part of it. ... We had a lot of seniors where this was their year ... who were finally getting a chance to make an impact for us.
“... Hopefully a lot of the lessons that they’ve learned throughout the years will help will help them get thorugh this.
“... Nobody’s ever been in a time like this.”
Ray Dover of Farragut: With 16 seniors, “I have been looking forward to coaching these guys since the moment I met them after their last day of eighth grade.
“... For a lot of them, this was their first opportunity to get out there and play.
“There’s no good spin to put on this. It’s unfortunate.
“We always tell them, too, ‘Life’s not fair, you just have to make decisions about what kind of attitude to have regarding things that get handed to you.’
“I just hate that this is the example they have to get for that.”
