By Ryan Carlson — Executive Editor
After a summer of uncertainty surrounding the initiation of San Jose State fall sports in 2020, the Mountain West finally reached a decision.
On August 10, the Mountain West followed in the footsteps of the Mid-American Conference and became the second FBS league to postpone fall sports. There is now a tentative plan to resume college sports in the spring.
Some Spartans were not surprised when they heard the news.
“There were weeks of expecting it,” said San Jose State men’s soccer head coach Simon Tobin. “But I was always hopeful, it’s just disappointing especially for our student athletes because their time in college is so brief.”
Tobin has coached soccer for 34 years and has had head coaching duties at SJSU since 2014. This has been the longest period of time for him to go without coaching, or typical recruiting around soccer. Being able to watch the MLS playoffs and spend time with his family has helped fill the void.
“The fall will provide our players to work on technical things that they usually don’t have time to work on in preparation for the spring,” Tobin said.
Tobin aims at keeping an upbeat persona during once-a-week team Zoom calls and encourages his team to think of ways to be productive during this time — whether it be individual practices or small group work.
“My biggest wish is for all teams to have some semblance of a spring season,” Tobin said.
Recruiting has been the most difficult task for Tobin, since he is unable to travel and watch potential prospects in person. Currently he relies on his connections with club soccer teams to inform him on the stats and performance of potential Spartans.
The financial hit that most universities are enduring is because of the postponement and cancellation of college football seasons. Initially, the Mountain West proposed an in-conference schedule with the option to play two out-of-conference games rather than the original four. The season was postponed shortly after.
San Jose State football kicker Matt Mercurio lives with six teammates and says they expected the conference to pull the plug.
“That whole week was interesting because of all the speculation building up to it,” Mercurio said. “As disappointing as it is, we all understand the decision.”
There were other teammates that expressed their dismay over the decision and spread the hashtag, #wewanttoplay on social media.
Team workouts have commenced with limited capacity in the weightroom. According to Mercurio, there is no set-in-stone plan for fall practices or team events.
With the extra time he has, Mercurio intends on improving his game to prepare for a spring season.
“It has been nice to have a weight room and a field to work out on and to get reps in,” Mercurio said.
Earlier in the summer Mercurio was named to the Lou Groza Award watch list which is credited to the best kicker in college football each season. He hopes to be able to compete for the award in the spring.
There was an air of disappointment among Spartan athletes in response to the Mountain West’s decision, but understood that it is ultimately the safe decision to persevere toward a spring season.
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