LIVINGSTON MANOR -- Sometimes there are no words, no way to frame reassurance and consolation about a loss. We all lose things in this life and most assuredly some losses are far more grievous than others such as the loss of people we love and hold dear.

Lost opportunities can also hit hard, especially if they are last chances at doing something one has worked hard for and anticipated greatly. Such is the case for local high school basketball players and in particular the members of the Class of 2021 as they are about to see their season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While some winter sports will go forward in New York State such as skiing, bowling, swimming and indoor track, those anxiously awaiting the previously projected date of November 30 as the restart to their life on the hardwood, now have to deal with the abeyance of the sport they live to play.

For the vast majority of high school kids, their senior year represents the coda of their careers that date back to their youth basketball days.

This blow is particularly stringent for Livingston Manor, a school that only offers basketball and cheerleading as winter sports. As such, this barring of “high risk” sports wipes the slate clean for this winter. For a community that is so supportive of their hoops teams, this augurs a bleak winter ahead. For the teams and their coaches the cancelation of their season is indescribable.

Last year at Manor was an emblematic one for the boys and girls teams. Both were Section 9 Class D champions and were vying for further glory in regional play. The boys did get to play their regional game that resulted in a 66-47 loss to Smithtown Christian. The girls weren't as fortunate. They were on the bus to Sullivan West to vie against South Kortright in the regional finals when the COVID-19 cancelation came down.

Wildcat wonders

Looking back, the 2019-20 Wildcats' boys team evinced some of the best chemistry coach Adam Larson had seen in years. That regional loss notwithstanding, the returning players looked forward to this season for redemption.

Despite the graduation of standouts Patrick DiBartolo and Garrett Shaver, the Wildcats were bringing back a nucleus of veterans, hungry for a chance to redeem themselves after the loss many felt should have been otherwise, particularly if they had a healthy DiBartolo and had played better.

Larson knew his now senior-loaded squad was queued up to make some serious noise this winter. After the cancelation of the spring and then the fall seasons, his athletes denied their other athletic ventures looked forward to basketball. Led by senior center Connor Gorr, the team's leading rebounder and shot blocker, an All BCANY and Sullivan County Democrat All-Star, the paint figured to be Wildcat territory.

That region was to be bolstered by senior power forward Case LeRoy, also a BCANY and Sullivan County Democrat All-Star with state honorable mention credentials to boot.

There is also senior point guard Austin Fulton, a well-rounded team leader ready to step in to replace DiBartolo with his own rhythm and court vision.

Add in senior shooting guard James Link, the team's top three-point shooter and senior Devin Gonzalez, a versatile player at the three or four position who could step in at either spot.

And it doesn't stop there. There is also senior shooting guard James Krupp and junior shooting guard Chris Ramirez. And finally, a top newcomer in junior Nathan Bowers.

Larson looked to his team with a sense of great expectations. “They're a close-knit group that plays hard as a unit, works extremely hard, are aggressive rebounders and have defensive chemistry. This would have been their second year running our playbook,” he avers wistfully.

The toughest part of the fall, in addition to the hiatus of football and soccer was the waiting to find out what would shake out for the winter.

“We're still waiting and seeing. As you can see we have a wealth of seniors, kids that resurrected our athletic program,” said Larson.

Asked if anything was done to prepare, Larson noted, “we encouraged zoom workouts. In our gym classes we enforced 12-foot separation. But given the uncertainty we hadn't set up any practices as the guidelines keep changing,” he added. “Besides, anything we wanted to do had to be presented and authorized by the school boards as the district, along with Roscoe and Downsville, [who] share a superintendent in John Evans and joint decision-making. The kids wanted to get going but it's better to err on the side of caution.”

More decisions

There was much to be decided even if the season were to go forward. For example, what do you do about spectators? The idea of a livestream broadcast of games faded quickly due to budgetary concerns. Now it looks as if the question is moot. The final verdict will likely come down within the next two weeks about the season but it's looking bleak to say the least.

For Manor Girls Basketball Coach Kevin Clifford the disappointment is equally palpable. Despite the graduation of senior firebrand Lindsey Parks, Clifford's Lady ‘Cats' were coming into the season loaded with talent and hungry given the disappointment of having their biggest game yanked out from under them last year.

Led by Senior All-Star Samantha Severing and fortified with the likes of Caitlin Evans, Haley Peck, Courtney Rampe, Vamisha Davis (who missed most of last season), Mackenzie Carlson and the addition of Khristine Davis, Manor would have had no trouble getting back into the regional frays.

“It's tough not having a season after how much these girls worked at the end of last season and how excited they were for this campaign,” said Clifford. “Most players were coming in before school to get extra work until we were shut down.

“This is going to be a very crazy winter for sports or should I say the lack thereof,” said Clifford. “Between this and the loss of Fred Ahart I feel really awful for these kids especially since I have been working with them since eighth grade when I dropped back down to modified.

“I worked with them right up to the varsity level,” he adds wistfully.

Hope does spring eternal and perhaps somewhere before this year is out, some limited basketball season may loom as a possibility. If not, there will always be the memories of what was.

As Helen Keller duly noted, “What we once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”