CLARE NORMOYLE
Special to The Leader
After having their season cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fredonia’s winter sports athletes are ready to get back out there and play.
Because of the cancelled season, many athletes missed out on their senior season.
Michael Wright, a previous student athlete for Fredonia’s men’s soccer team and now the assistant men’s soccer coach for his fifth year with Fredonia’s athletic department said, “The expectation for this winter sports season is high, and I believe everyone in the department would agree with me when I say we have been waiting a long time for this.”
So, for the remaining student athletes to get another chance at playing, even with the pandemic still going on, a lot of the athletic department is feeling grateful.
“Something we’ve all emphasized is our gratitude for being able to compete again and just being able to get out there. With that being said, we are still looking to push the boundaries in each individual program and put the necessary work in to get to each program’s respected postseason,” said Wright.
The teams that will be playing during this winter season are men’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and Fredonia’s cheer team.
The men’s hockey team honored the late Tanner Kahlau, 10 months after he passed away, on Nov. 6. The team has named him as one of the captains for this season in remembrance of him.
The upcoming game will sell jerseys with the number nine, Kahlau’s number, on the back and a “C” on the front for captain, and the money raised will go to an endowment fund set up by the Kahlau family.
Three days later, the men’s basketball team opened up their season versus Allegheny. There is extra anticipation for this season as we have yet to see what Sean Smiley brings to the table. Smiley, the former University at Buffalo guard, was hired to coach the Blue Devils in April 2020 and has yet to coach a game due to the pandemic.
Other than pushing for people to attend all winter sports games, Wright said that the conference games are the best ones to attend.
“I would say [the] games worth watching are most SUNYAC contests. We have a rich history with the majority of schools in the SUNYAC, going back decades. As well as SUNYAC contests, [they] are the most important because they dictate who will go to the post season to earn a chance at the NCAA tournament,” said Wright.
Fredonia Athletics is working hard to make sure that this approaching winter season will run as smoothly as possible.