EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part two of a three-part question-and-answer series in which the Northeast Mississippi Community College sports information department caught up with all spring sports head coaches to get their thoughts on their respective 2019-20 seasons and the current coronavirus pandemic as it relates to their program.
BOONEVILLE, Miss. – The Northeast Mississippi Community College softball program has been a model of consistency since its establishment with 17 playoff appearances in 19 previous seasons of fast-pitch competition.
The Tigers did not get a chance to continue their tradition of advancing into the postseason during the 2020 campaign after the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) cancelled all remaining activities in mid-March due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
Northeast was off to a sensational start as usual with 10 wins in its first 13 games, including a 7-2 record inside its brand-new, state-of-the-art "Field of Dreams" complex. The Tigers rose to as high as No. 19 in the NJCAA Division II rankings.
The Tigers had just captured an impressive road sweep at Calhoun (Ala.) Community College when action around the country was suspended. Northeast had opened Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) play one week earlier.
Northeast featured a solid mix of newcomers such as Macy Busby, who perhaps was on the way to breaking the school record for most home runs in a single season with five in only 13 contests, and experienced sophomores such as returning MACJC All-State pitcher Ayriana Stoneback.
Jody Long has been with the Tigers during all 20 fast-pitch seasons either as head coach or an assistant. He believed that the inaugural campaign at the newly christened on-campus stadium was a success even if it was abbreviated.
SID: When all the news of the coronavirus struck, I feel like your team was just hitting its stride. Give me your thoughts on where your team was at before all this news broke.
Long: We had a young team and I think our kids were starting to gel, starting to trust each other, starting to trust the coaching staff and buy in. The kids had been working hard. It was just one of those situations where I think we were finally starting to put some of the people in the right positions to be successful. We had dealt with some injuries and moving some people around. I thought our kids were finally starting to trust the process and starting to play better.
SID: The conference first postponed all play for two weeks and then eventually the NJCAA cancelled the whole season. What were your thoughts during that time?
Long: Probably one of the biggest things is the fact that we were on spring break. We had played on Monday (March 9) and we had sent our kids home. We never got see reactions in person, deal with these kids and have them so we could take care of them and just work through the emotions that this has caused because (playing softball) is what these kids have done their entire lives.
SID: What did you tell your players when you got a chance to speak with them?
Long: I just wanted to try to keep them upbeat and switch our focus to staying positive in their coursework and understanding how important that staying safe was. The main thing was to try to find positives in this and for the most part our kids have done really good in responding to this. We talk all the time in our program about playing the game like it's your last game. It's just very tough for some kids obviously because they could have played their last competitive game. Unfortunately, nobody in the country saw this coming. It's hard not only at Northeast, but all across the country.
SID: The NJCAA is going to allow everybody to keep their eligibility. How do you think this will affect the student-athletes in your program and college softball in general?
Long: I think there are still a lot of questions unanswered. The biggest thing right now is you want to look at this from one of two ways. You've got to determine if you're going to be trying to do what's best for the program or best for the individual. For me, I've always put our players' overall total picture first. I have sent out some messages to get (the sophomores) to be thinking about what they want to do moving forward on an individual level. We're going to look at it not only from an athletic standpoint, but an academic standpoint. I don't want an individual player to look back three, four, five years from now and say that we as a staff or institution didn't do what was best for them. Obviously, the kids that were on our team were here for a reason. If they want to come back then I hope we're able to afford those kids that opportunity. If it benefits a kid better to move on academically then I think you've got to support that.
This is not a one-year fix. For the four-year institutions, you're probably looking at the 2025 class before it really equals out. Probably for community colleges you're looking at the 2023 class. If every one of our freshmen come back next year then we're going to have 27 freshmen. So it's going to cause some coaches to make some hard decisions.
SID: Even though it was a shortened season, it was the inaugural season at our brand new softball complex. How amazing was it this year to get to play in that beautiful new facility?
Long: It was just unbelievable. Every aspect that you could possibly create for the collegiate atmosphere I feel like we've done that. It's unmatched. There's no other concept that is setup like ours. You think about the facility that the kids get to play and practice in every day. It's first class and top notch. Things are still happening to improve that on a daily basis believe it or not. There are still things going on. I've been to facilities all across the country. One of the unique things for us is we put all the fans right behind home plate. You don't have people spread out. You've got everybody in a general area where they can see everything. It really, really for the first time in the history of our program created probably one of the most exciting atmospheres that I've been around in my entire coaching career.
SID: What are some of the things individually and game-wise that stood out this season?
Long: I think back first and foremost to the Calhoun game here. We had not played well in game one. We went in the locker room, flushed it and came back out. It was a very competitive ball game. We gave up some timely hits late in the ball game and gave up a lead. Our kids came in the bottom of the seventh and our leadoff got out. We then hit back-to-back solo home runs and ended up loading the bases and getting a timely hit to score two runs and walk it off to win the game. It was just a testament of this team not quitting. Our conference opener (against Hinds), game one was a pitching duel. Both teams had maybe two or three hits, but one of their hits went over the fence and we got beat 1-0. There again, we went in the locker room, flushed it and came back out and competed well. Our last doubleheader of the year we went to Calhoun. It was a slugfest type of day all day long. Calhoun would answer in the bottom half of the inning, but we'd put more runs up the next inning. Our kids just kept fighting and clawing. I saw more growth as a team that day than I'd probably seen up to that point. They were picking each other up and doing anything that we asked them to do.
SID: Softball will return good Lord willing next spring and hopefully with some fall games as well. Tell me about what you're looking forward to next year.
Long: You're going to see more of a style that we believe in. I think our pitching staff will be as strong as anybody's in the country. I think we'll defend it well. I think we'll hit it well. I think that we have an opportunity to get to where we want to be with putting the type of team on the field that our institution, community and fans expect. It will definitely be exciting to watch.
SID: If you had to give a message of encouragement right now, what would you say in these unprecedented times?
Long: The biggest thing is hopefully everything that's gone on makes everybody take a closer look at their lives on an individual basis. This is an opportunity to grow as a family in your own household while staying safe. Sometimes we get caught up in our everyday, busy lives. We don't think we have time to do this or do that. Right now we have more time than we've ever had in our lives. It's all about how you use that time. Continue to grow as a family and just be thankful for the things that the good Lord provides you with on a daily basis. Young kids are going to be resilient. They're going to bounce back from this. As we get back to some sense of normalcy, you'll start seeing the economy bounce back. We'll get sports back. We'll get all those things (we enjoy) back.
SID: When the next pitch is thrown, whether it be fall games that we hope happen or whether it's the spring season next year or whenever it may be, how awesome is that moment going to be?
Long: It's going to be very emotional for a lot of reasons. There's so much uncertainty when things are taken away from you. But the biggest thing is it will be a relief. It'll finally let you look around and feel and see that things are back to normal a little bit. We just hope and pray that everybody stays safe and continues to do the things that they need to do. Hopefully when that next pitch happens there's a large crowd there to share in the emotion, the excitement and the joy of us saying we're back.