Ava Compagnoni, avcompagnoni@ursinus.edu
“With the health and safety of its student-athletes, campus communities and the general public of paramount importance, the Centennial Conference Presidents Council has decided to cancel conference competition and championships for all fall and winter sports during the 2020-21 academic year.” – Statement from the Centennial Conference.
The Centennial Conference has just made the decision to nix competition for both fall and winter sports for the 2021 season, and fall and winter athletes are devastated for the love of their sports, teammates and passion. The entire Ursinus community feels for our athletes, as they have devoted so much time and effort to their second families, their teams.
Bruce Edwards, an incredible asset to the Men’s Basketball team, talks about how much the team has meant to him over the past four years here at Ursinus. Edwards started in all 25 games last season, leading the team and finishing third in the Centennial Conference in blocks and blocks per game.
Edwards, along with another three seniors, have put blood, sweat, heart, and tears into this game and this program, “Over the years this team has felt like a second family to me. Off and on the court, just spending time with these guys makes every day worthwhile and I am eternally grateful for the opportunities given to me. Each and every one of the guys on my team, past and present, have become my brother for life,” says Edwards. Not only exceptional on the court, Edwards also excels in the classroom, and was named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Now that the fall semester is coming to a close, along with the chance of competition for the 2020-2021 season, what does the team look towards in the spring now? “With the extraneous COVID circumstances, I don’t really have any expectations because of the unpredictability of the situation. With that being said, all I want is just enjoy the rest of the semester helping the
younger guys get ready for next season,” says Edwards. The spring semester continues to be questionable and unpredictable as the world takes on this virus one day at a time.
The team adjusted smoothly to new COVID guidelines, even with some aspects of their routine being completely new. Basketball, being such an indoor, contact sport, had to grapple with some significant changes to their practices this fall. Edwards speaks on what he found particularly difficult facing the fall practices: “The most difficult adjustment given the COVID guidelines is how we teach our underclassmen certain drills or specific things the coaches want to see in a game setting. Being constantly spread apart in a contact sport doesn’t really help what we’re trying to do.”
We hope that the situation our student-athletes are in will soon improve. As Bears we will persevere in our efforts to grow and learn from the historic year we have lived through. Go Bears!