CLEVELAND — While some high school sports teams were able to finish the fall season, others are still stuck on the sidelines. That can be tough for players who want to continue to play in college.
Todd Hickman, a senior at John Marshall High School, would like to be on the football field with his teammates. Instead, like many students across Ohio, he’s meeting virtually.
“It’s kind of hard, you know, watching the game I love on Friday nights. And I could have been out there, but I can’t really because of this pandemic,” said Hickman.
John Marshall High School is part of the Senate Athletic League, which is made up of schools located within Cleveland. The league postponed the fall football season, making it harder for Hickman to compete for a college scholarship.
“A lot of opportunities, a lot of scholarships I could have gotten right now if we would have had a season. So, you know, that’s kind of where I’m at, but I’m training.”
Student athletes like Hickman are now reliant on game film from junior year, which his coach says is challenge without a senior year tape, especially for the guys who didn’t get much playing time earlier.
“The ones that didn’t play their junior year, they don’t have any film. So, there’s nothing they can really do. It’s just all based off your grades and your size, and you know, some of them do trainings with personal trainers to get looks that way, but if you don’t have any junior film, it’s pretty tough,” said Terrance Cleggett, the head football coach at John Marshall.
He says it’s stressful for his players not to have the opportunity this fall to compete for an athletic scholarship and that could be life changing.
“A college opportunity for these young people, especially in the inner city, can change the whole trajectory of their life,” said Cleggett. “Being able to get an offer, a college scholarship, to get an education, to get help and get a college degree. For some of them, they want to use this opportunity to better their household. And you know, you go off to college and graduate, you can really bring back a lot of good things to your community.”
Cleggett says there is one thing that’s easier: With several college programs not having a season, there’s more contact with their coaches.
“Because they’re really having to focus on recruiting, so they can actually contact us a lot earlier than usual. Usually in the season, it’s kind of hard to get ahold of a college coach, but now, I’ve gotten calls more than ever during the season because a lot of those programs don’t have seasons.”
Hickman says he has some interest from schools and is open to playing in the spring to give himself more chances to earn a scholarship and continue following his dreams.
“It gives me a lot of opportunity, you know, to kind of get away from the house … get a little bit more of a good education,” said Hickman. “My goal was always to make the NFL. So, you know I want to pretty much, you know, make it to the NFL, help my mom out.”
