Tom Dodge
The National Junior College Athletic Association announced it is moving all sports to the spring semester which will affect LSU Eunice’s six NJCAA sports – men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball.
Men’s and women’s soccer will shift its regular season to the spring with practice starting on March 15, 2021.
A maximum of 14 games will begin play on April 2, 2021 with all regular season, region and district championships completed by May 24.
The soccer championships will begin on June 2.
The NJCAA is allowing a 60-day window for soccer fall practice and scrimmages from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.
LSUE Lady Bengals soccer head coach Ian McGimsey said the changes could be a positive move for his team.
“Change is always difficult because you are used to a routine,” he said. “But at the same time now we get a full semester with the team to train and get ready for the season.”
The Lady Bengals’ soccer team fell in the Region 23 Championship to close the season with a 13-3-1 record.
“We are excited that we are going to have a season,” LSUE boys head soccer coach Josh McReynolds said. “The delay can help us because normally when the guys arrive in August we have to be ready to play a serious, competitive match two weeks later.
“Now we get the complete fall semester to get them ready because they haven’t played since the lockdown in March,” he said.
“We need to work on their sharpness and conditioning and we won’t have to rush them back in and risk injury.”
Last season, the Bengals clinched its second consecutive Region 23 title.
The Bengals fell in the Gulf South District Championship to finish the season with a 16-2 overall record.
Just like soccer, the NJCAA is allowing a 60-day window for basketball practice and scrimmages from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15.
LSU Eunice women’s basketball earned its third consecutive league title in 2019 and advanced to the Region 23 semifinals before falling to four-time reigning Region 23 Tournament champion Jones College.
The Lady Bengals finished the season with a 21-7 overall record.
“The postponement of the season turns out to be a great situation,” Jamie Gonzales said of the schedule move. “It allows us to get the players ready for the season.
“They haven’t been able to work out or get into a gym because of the virus,” he said. “It is a great thing that we will have five months to get their bodies right and ready to play.”
Gonzales said he expects some changes to the schedule and how other schools will be able to start their seasons.
“We will be able to condition, lift weights and practice as normal,” he said. “We are really looking to getting back on the court when the girls arrive back on campus.”
Men’s and women’s basketball will begin pre-season practice starting on Jan. 11, 2021, with a 22-game season starting on Jan. 22.
All regular season, region and district championship competition will conclude by April 10, with national tournaments slated to begin by April 19.
LSU Eunice men’s basketball clinched its first outright LCCAC championship secured its first 20-win season under head coach Byron Starks in just its second year of existence.
The Bengals advanced to the Region 23 tournament for the first time and finished the season with a 20-6 overall record.
“It is a good thing to actually have a season,” Bryon Starks said. “Some games are better than no games.
“We will adapt and adjust to do whatever we have to do to make it all work out.”
Starks said the offseason workouts will help his group gain each other’s confidence and work together to become closer as a team.
The basketball coach said the first semester without games could be a benefit, especially for the freshmen as the athletes are expected to arrive on campus on Aug. 15.
“We will do what we have to do to practice and still follow what ever guidelines will be in place when school starts,” Starks said.
LSUE’s spring sports competition remains intact with minor adjustments to dates.
The baseball and softball teams will also have a 60-day window from Sept. 5 to Nov. 15 to have practice and scrimmages.
Both baseball and softball will begin its pre-season practice on Jan. 10 with first games set for Jan. 22.
Baseball will be allowed a maximum of 56 games, while softball is allowed 30 play dates (which can include multiple games in one day).
“The girls will be able to focus more on their academics in the fall,” LSUE head softball coach Meghan Collins said. “This will give them a strong academic base underneath them – they can learn time management and focus on being a college student then athlete.”
Collins said they will practice during the fall to pick up from the coronavirus shortened season when the softball team closed the year at 12-11.
“You have to learn to roll with the punches,” she said. “When adversity hits, you can be upset or do something about it.
“Our goal has not changed,” Collins said. “We are working to be the last team standing at the end of the season.
“We will do what needs to be done to end the year that way,” she said.
The NJCAA Div. II softball world series is scheduled for May 25-29, 2021.
The baseball Bengals were 21-0 when COVID-19 forced the season to end in March, but head coach Jeff Willis said they can only look to the future.
“It is the best scenario to make sure we have championship seasons,” Willis said of the calender shift. “We don’t want a start-stop situation in the fall (because of the virus).”
Willis said he will restrict his programs from playing other teams during their 60-day window allowed for practices and scrimmages.
“We will stay on campus, practice and do inter-squad games,” Jeff Willis said of the fall schedule. “We won’t get on a bus and travel to any other teams – we will stay at LSUE.”
The regular baseball season, region and district play will conclude like its traditional end date of late May.
The NJCAA Div. II baseball world series is scheduled for May 29 to June 5, 2021.
“The change is going to help our soccer teams because now they will have the whole semester to develop their players like our baseball and softball teams do,” Willis said.
Willis praised the NJCAA Board of Regents for their efforts to work through the challenges.
“They did a tremendous job in their plan and the toughtfulness of it,” he said. “They want to make sure the student athletes are safe and to make sure our schools get an opportunity to compete for championships.”