By Mark Potts
Valley City Times-Record

When the disappointment of having their seasons canceled set in on Wednesday, VCSU softball coach Chad Slyter and baseball coach Casey Olney had to turn their attention to another grim thought, losing players.
There’s no conference tournament for the players and no shot at the postseason. After a year of hard work and preparation, the teams didn’t even get to play half their games. Obviously, there’s going to be some anger and frustration from the athletes about having their seasons canceled.
After putting so much time and effort into helping sandbag and dike the VCSU campus and the community, it’s easy to see how some athletes could feel shunned and consider transferring out of VCSU.
“That’s something that could happen,” said Olney. “I talked to every player (Wednesday) and a lot of them are feeling the same way as I am, disappointed and frustrated, but hopefully it doesn’t happen.
“I’d be pretty excited about my team as it stands coming back next year,” added Olney. “They felt, and I felt, we were really close (to turning the corner), and then not having an opportunity to show what we’re capable of, it’s a challenge.”
School officials are confident all baseball and softball players will be able to retain their year of eligibility, which in the future could be a blessing if everyone sticks around and gains another year of experience. Scholarships should not be affected.
Olney said the one senior on his roster, first baseman Cory Arnason, has told him he plans to come back and play next season. Slyter said his one senior, Lara Loomis, will be in school next year, but as of Wednesday he did not know if she’ll be playing softball. Losing players after the cancellation is also a concern for Slyter.
“It’s something that goes through your mind,” he said. “That might be the initial reaction of some kids.”
Slyter talked to each player after the decision was made, and said after the dust settles in the next couple weeks the team will start talking about who’s coming back to play.
It was an issue not lost on athletic director BJ Pumroy when he and President Steve Shirley were discussing canceling the seasons.
“I have some concerns we’ll lose some enrollment,” said Pumroy. “But I hope they recognize this (flood) is nothing we can control.”