From freshmen to seniors, Veterans Memorial High School baseball athletes showed up today to turn in their uniforms and equipment; many seeing their coaches and teammates for the first time in weeks.
“Picking up uniforms is kind of a symbol of it all being over and we gotta move on eventually,” said Eagles Head Baseball Coach Lee Yeager.
Sixty athletes on Yeager’s roster stepped foot on their high-school campus for the first time in a long time, but only to say a short goodbye as their season comes to an end at the hands of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re just having them drive through," Yeager said. "Then they’re gonna drop their stuff off in a little bin and we’re gonna go in their lockers and pull their stuff out, and they’re gonna take off.”
Athletes cleaned out their lockers and turned in the jerseys they only got to wear for half a season.
“Man, we were ranked No. 1 in the state and playing really well,” Yeager said.
Senior players with big aspirations finally shut the door on what could have been.
“Honestly it sucks, but things happen," said senior Jacob Garza. "I’m gonna miss the bond that we had. “It’s not the ideal way to do it. I’ve grown up with most of these guys and its just I’m gonna go from seeing them everyday to seeing them, maybe, once a month.”
In a Twitter message to his players, Yeager went on to share one good memory of each player he had, and finished by reminisced on the season the team was so close to having.
“We’re gonna miss those guys," he said. "We’ve been with them for four years and its gonna be sad to see those guys go.”
But as these athletes understand: All things come to an end, and their coach is glad to see them drive off looking toward the future.
“Ready for a change,” said Garza, who is planning to attend the University of Houston in the upcoming fall.