The Final Year Full of Unwanted Tears

BY: GABBIE K.

On March 12, 2020, president and CEO of AAU basketball, Dr. Roger J. Goudy, issued a statement regarding COVID-19 and the 2020 AAU basketball season. Having played AAU basketball ever since the sixth grade, hearing the news that my final AAU basketball season was going to be cut short because of a virus was devastating. Devastating not only because I wasn’t able to play my final year to try and find the perfect college fit for me, but devastating because I wasn’t able to finish this final season of AAU basketball with some of my best friends. While many understand the reasoning behind this decision, it is still hard to fathom. On May 1st, however, AAU basketball plans to consider lifting certain cancellations of AAU tournaments within the country.

For the past six years, the Huntsman Select AAU High School Girls Black basketball teamーbased in Urbana, Ohioーhas had the same exact teammates with the exception of a few players here-and-there. That team is my AAU basketball team. This team, so different but so unique in their own way, has made for an amazing AAU basketball career. A team that has spent the past six years together every spring, and some parts the summer, had their final season cut short due to COVID-19. Our team. Our final season. Cut short with the snap of a finger and announcement made by Dr. Goudy.

To say that this still remains as a hard pill to swallow is quite an understatement. Right now, there should be endless laughs in hotel rooms. There should be pictures taken left-and-right at every final AAU tournament played together. There should be parents cheering on other players besides their own, making everything feel like a real family. There should be blood, sweat, tears, you name it. There should be coaches yelling everywhere. There should be courts filled with nothing but the sounds of loud whistles and squeaky basketball shoes. There should be college coaches watching high school stars, hoping that one day those players get the chance to play for them. Most importantly, though, there should be us: the junior AAU basketball class that missed out on the final, most important, AAU basketball season of our lives.

Maybe we’ll get the chance to wear our AAU basketball uniforms and shooting shirts one last time. Maybe not. But maybe, just maybe, the memories we created along the way up until this point are strong enough to help us overcome this unprecedented time we never expected.