After state officials announced on March 30 that schools would stay closed for the rest of the school year, the Arizona Interscholastic Association announced the rest of the spring sports season would be cancelled. That means high school athletes across Arizona had their seasons, and in some cases their time as student-athletes, cut short.
Tyler Mlazgar is one of them. He’s a senior at American Leadership Academy Queen Creek who plays football and baseball.
"This is most likely my last time playing organized baseball for a school," Mlazgar said. "And so, just knowing that I never got a proper goodbye to the sport that I love, it just kind of sucks. I never got my senior night, I never had that opportunity to play my last game knowing that it was my last game."
Mlazgar said he discovered his baseball season was ending early through a group chat. His team had played in a tournament at the end of February. They had a few more games scheduled during spring break, but they were rained out before the rest of the 20 to 25 games on the schedule were suspended. He described the situation as having the rug pulled out from under both him and his team.
"When we lost this season, we lost more than the game of baseball, to be honest. We lost that opportunity to have a great time together and be best friends and brothers." Mlazgar said.
The cancellation of the spring sports season in Arizona schools affects a number of sports and athletes. The Show spoke to Jordan Hamm, a reporter and host for Sports360AZ, to understand some of the ramifications.
