Postponement leaves athletes on the side lines

By Jack Ferdon

While the nation mourned the horrific events of Sept. 11, an empty Buck Shaw Stadium looked disturbingly as glorious as ever. With the sun bouncing off its gold bleachers onto the respiring turf, the home of the Broncos' women's and men's soccer teams was like a young mother, humming away as she awaits her son's return from school and unburdened by the knowledge that bullies have bloodied the boy's face just a block away. Ignorance was not just bliss but security and comfort and whatever it was people felt before the tragedies.But there was none of this to be had by those who normally occupy Buck Shaw's pitch or Santa Clara's other athletic facilities. At the behest of Father Locatelli and with the support of the athletes and coaches, all sporting events from Sept. 11 through Sept. 16 were canceled or postponed.

Support for the decision was unanimous, as sports seemed insignificant to the Broncos.

When something like this happens, you don't think about anything else, said Mitch Murray, men's soccer head coach, whose team missed scheduled games against San Jose State and Sacramento State.

"Canceling the games was the right thing to do," one of Murray's freshman, Ryan Cochrane said. "Everybody was thinking about the tragedy. This goes beyond sports."

This past Monday, in the first game played since the terrorist attacks, the No. 3 women's soccer team lost to Cal, 3-1, a score that was partly a reflection of the trauma of the past week.

"The events of the past week definately affected the emotions of the team both in practice and during the game," Associate Head Coach Rich Manning said.

Women's volleyball Head Coach Jon Wallace saw the same pphenomenon in his team, which missed a match against Sacramento Stae and a tourname in Minnesota.

"The Players were a little distracted," Wallace said. "It's been hard to get the emotion needed for a good practice. If we had had to play Monday, we definately would have been sluggish."

The challenge now for Santa Clara's athletic teams will be to maintain the same level of performance achieved vefore Sept. 11. What was a lay-up last year will now seem like a dunk. Doubles become homers and goals become hat tricks. And every victory will be cherished all the more.