Had it not been canceled, this season was going to tell the tale of two seniors on Manistee's baseball team.
Andrew Jackoviak was poised for a leadership role as the Chippewas' longtime jack of all trades, and Josh Weaver was to make his return to the mound after a two-year hiatus from the sport.
Like all senior athletes across the state, however, their stories went untold as the coronavirus pandemic put the world — and its sports at every level — on pause.
"You'll never know what could have been," said Manistee baseball coach Dave Edmondson of the canceled spring season. "Everyone's in the same boat, and I know that everyone feels for all the seniors.
"Ninety-nine percent of kids won't move on to play college sports, so to have the last season of your high school career taken away, it's tough to swallow."
Edmondson said he was looking forward to seeing his veteran, Jackoviak, lead the charge this season as the team's utility man.
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Manistee senior Andrew Jackoviak slides safely into third last season. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee senior Andrew Jackoviak slides safely into third last season. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee senior Andrew Jackoviak slides safely into third last season. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee senior Andrew Jackoviak slides safely into third last season. (News Advocate file photo)
"He was going to be a leader," he said. "Andrew's not a 'rah rah' guy, but he's always led by example with his work ethic. He goes hard all the time; he doesn't relent; he doesn't take a day off.
"And he's a guy you knew you could put anywhere and he'd produce," Edmondson added. "I told Andrew before the season that, with these young guys coming up, we'll probably need him to play multiple positions because of that ability. And he was licking his chops at that."
Jackoviak was also looking forward to the program's next stride.
"The last couple years have been down years for us, but, like us coaches, he could see it coming too," Edmondson said. "He could see the skills the new guys were bringing in, and he even told me, 'Coach, it's a different feeling this year.' And that was great to hear."
While Jackoviak was looking forward to his fourth season with the program, a fellow senior, Weaver, was returning to the roster for the first time since his freshman year.
"Josh was coming back after taking two years off, and he was ready to play," Edmondson said. "He was going to the winter workouts, showing up on the weekends, throwing, hitting and was excited about playing again."
The Chippewas were happy to have him back, too, as he would have likely logged a lot of innings on the mound.
"He's one of the hardest throwers we've had in years, so it was exciting for us to have him," Edmondson said. "He's a guy who could be a dominant pitcher, and he was working hard and asking questions every day.
"And to see that excitement in your seniors, that's why you coach. That's why we do what we do, and that's why I feel terrible for those two kids."
This season also would have been the high school debut for a wave of promising newcomers, many of whom have polished their skills through the local Lake Michigan Lakers youth baseball program.
"While I feel the worst for the seniors, I've also got this group of freshmen who have been working hard for years — playing summer ball, improving in the offseason — and this was going to be their time too: to show why they work as hard as they do," Edmondson said. "No one knows what this season would have been, but I want to say we would have had a good, growing year.
"The first couple weeks, I'm sure, might have been a little tough with a young team, but I feel like, with our leaders, we were going to have some fun and maybe do something special," he said. "Our goals are never about wins and losses; it's about getting better and playing the game the right way, because when you do that the wins will follow.
"You could tell by the competitive nature in practice, the guys were ready. They wanted to play, and they wanted to compete."
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Chips sad to see seniors go as youth shows promise - Manistee News Advocate
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