A lot of reality has set in over the past week. Nearly every event for the next month or more has been cancelled, and athletics at all levels have been put on hold. Pleasantville girls track and field head coach Aaron Fichter has composed an open letter about the events of the COVID-19 outbreak, and how it relates to his team. Fichter originally wrote the piece with the idea that the season as a whole would eventually be cancelled. While that is still up in the air, he says the piece puts the situation into perspective, and should resonate with all athletes who read it.
“I started writing it, pretty much as if if this happens, what are we going to do. And it just kind of what I think of the season, and how I think of you guys and how much I appreciate everything they’ve done. And it really turned into something I felt like I might as well share this now. It felt like something probably a lot of people are feeling right now. Really if we do have a season, it puts into perspective how thankful we should be if we get it. And also if we don’t, it kind of puts it into perspective of how do we pull some kind of meaning out of this if we can’t compete.”