Liberty League Announces Spring Season
On Monday, The Liberty League announced that spring athletics will resume competition and championships for the 2021 season.
According to an Instagram post that went out on Monday, the league’s Presidents Council unanimously agreed on this decision. Competition can extend beyond Liberty League teams, as long as they abide by the league’s COVID-19 protocols.
This announcement came as exciting news to many spring athletes at St. Lawrence who have not played in over a year.
Brian Comerford, Class of 2022 and a member of the baseball team, said his team is ecstatic with the news as they weren’t sure they would have a season at all.
“We’re really excited to get back out on the field,” said Comerford. “New coaches, new culture. We’re extremely grateful for the opportunity to play and we’re going to take full advantage of the season.”
Andrew Matthews, also a member of the Class of 2022 and the baseball team, expressed similar sentiments as Comerford.
“For the last six to seven weeks our team has had the foot on the gas everyday,” said Matthews, “and now that the Liberty League has announced their intention to hold a spring 2021 season, we intend to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
The announcement also had a positive impact on morale for many teams on campus.
Caroline Cloutier, Class of 2022 and a member of the women’s lacrosse team, spoke to the newfound sense of routine her team has experienced with the news.
“COVID has made everything so uncertain so having a season definitely brings back a sense of normalcy for us as a team,” she said.
Despite the hard work they have been putting in before the official announcement of a season, Matthews also said this gave their team an extra appreciation for the game.
“Especially in today’s climate, where there is so much uncertainty, to be able to say that we are scheduled to play games in about a month means a lot to this program,” said Matthews. “For the time being, the team remains committed to doing whatever it takes to win, as well as ready to attack any challenges that this spring season brings.”
Since every school in the Liberty League signed off on the announcement, teams will play each school in the league as they normally would in previous years. According to the Liberty League 2021 Return to Play Protocols and Standards, there are health measures in place to ensure the safety of the athletes on home and visiting teams including hand sanitizing, social distancing, and hygiene recommendations, to name a few.
Many of these health measures match those that St. Lawrence has already implemented. Matthews spoke further of the dilligence their team has been putting in to following these protocols.
“On campus we are doing everything we can as a team to follow COVID-19 protocol, so none of our guys miss any time while we strive to keep this community safe,” Matthews said. “Go Saints.”