Daviess County baseball coach Austin Clay was set to embark on his first season as a head coach, but the novel coronavirus threw him the ultimate curveball.
Clay, with the company of his seniors, had hopes of making a splash in the 9th District and 3rd Region this season. The team spent countless hours preparing a season that ultimately got cancelled without ever playing a game.
“We had 10 total seniors that would have gotten to play a lot, which makes this much tougher,” he said. “They are a really good group that dedicated their time to our program, enjoyed being together and just loved playing baseball.”
Clay made special mention of Grant Oller, a senior that struggled through major health issues during the 2019 season.
“He was fighting for his life, much less baseball. I was most looking forward to seeing Grant get back in a game,” he said. “I think that would have been a very special moment for our program.”
While the coach has more downtime on his hands then he expected, he’s still finding ample ways to stay busy. As a student of the game, he’s constantly searching for ways to continue to grow as a coach amid this pandemic.
“Daviess County Public Schools has done a great job with the current circumstances. Through NTI (Non-Traditional Instruction), we’ve still been able to provide instruction to our students and maintain some form of normalcy,” he said. “Baseball organizations such as the ABCA have increased their content output for coaches during this time, and I’m thankful for that.”
While the loss of the season hit home with Clay, he understands that the predicament is much bigger than athletics.
“This is unfortunate for a million different reasons. I understand that there are a lot bigger things going on in the world right now than high school baseball, but that doesn’t make it any easier,” he said. “Our kids have put in a lot of time, and in knowing the passion they have for the game, it’s hard to see their season taken from them.”
The virus has also put a damper on the recruiting process for many college-bound athletes. With the NCAA canceling recruitment through the end of May, seniors are left with minimal to no opportunities for exposure.
The Panthers have two student-athletes committed to play at the next level thus far— Cole Troutman (2B) and Jacob Crabtree (OF) both plan to play at Brescia University next season. Other seniors remain in contact with colleges, and Clay is hopeful that he can help them navigate through this process that is foreign to everyone involved.
As uncertainty continues to surround high school athletics, Clay is trying to simply focus on what is under his control.
“It’s something that I have spent way too much time thinking about, just going over all of the possible scenarios,” he said. “This situation has made me have to realize that I can only control what I can control. This has made me appreciate the opportunities that I have had and has made me miss being around the team that much more.”
