“Please have this letter serve to inform our School community that Saint Edward’s School will be closed for the next two weeks through Sunday, March 29th. We will be in the process of re-evaluating our status throughout that two-week period, and we will update you as needed during that time. Our decision was focused upon supporting the efforts of our region and nation in terms of inhibiting the spread of COVID-19.”
That was part of a statement released last weekend by Head of School Mike Mersky as similar decisions were being announced worldwide. We are all currently fogged in by developments that have disrupted lives everywhere. Planning doesn’t seem to matter at this point.
We recently interviewed St. Ed’s senior Catalina Pratt. She told us about finishing her last season of high school lacrosse and the back story leading to her decision to play the sport in college. How that all plays out at this point is anybody’s guess.
Pratt committed to play lacrosse at Queens University in Charlotte during a signing ceremony at school back in November. That took a big decision off the table while at the same time presaging a carefree and enjoyable final season of high school lacrosse this spring.
While admittedly ecstatic about such good fortune, some day she may also look back on the bizarre set of circumstances that led to this and wonder how and why it all came to be – and put into perspective what has transpired since.
For starters, Pratt wasn’t sure college lacrosse was the thing for her, but she was urged to go through the recruiting process anyway. From that point forward it became an all-out effort. One of the handful of schools she reached out to was Queens University.
“I randomly emailed Queens because I knew somebody who went there,” Pratt told us. “I never did any research on them and had no intention of making a visit. They expressed no interest in me.
“I was on my way to tour East Carolina University when my plane got cancelled and I was unexpectedly stranded in Charlotte. So I decided to visit Queens and thought it would be so funny if I ended up going to school there.”
A situation going nowhere suddenly developed into a mutual interest. Coaches from Queens decided to take a look at Pratt in the Capital Cup lacrosse tournament in Virginia. The connection was strengthening on both ends, but it was not yet a done deal.
“In the beginning I was just interested in taking in the true college experience,” Pratt said. “I wanted to go to a big football school, and all of that. For a while I didn’t think I could get that by playing a sport in college.
“I’ve been playing lacrosse since I was 4 years old, and I thought I was just kind of done with it. But some people were telling me that I shouldn’t waste my talents and at least go through the recruiting process to see what would happen. When I started doing that in 10th grade I had no idea how it would end up. I was pretty set that I wasn’t going to play lacrosse in college.
“It was by total accident that I visited Queens and when they came to watch me play they were super interested. Sure enough, a few months later they invited me to come for an overnight. I just loved it. I knew I wanted to play lacrosse in college after that happened.”
Hopefully some degree of normalcy will return by then, but the current outlook is completely shrouded in uncertainty. Sporting activities have shut down on all levels at an alarming rate. Anxiety is widespread. Like everyone, Pratt was preparing for none of this.
The girls lacrosse team was 2-2 going into spring break, which had now been extended by at least two weeks. It seems likely that all spring sports activities are in jeopardy. For the record, Pratt contributed seven goals and nine assists in those four games, but she was anticipating far more.
“I’m looking forward to the season, being a leader, and helping out the younger girls,” she told us earlier. “That would be the type of person I always looked up to when I was younger.
“Going into this last season is bittersweet. I’ve played with three of the girls since I was 5 or 6 years old. It’s just really sad knowing that I will never get to play with them again. We’ve done everything together, we’ve been through it all.
“We’ve been a super successful team since ninth grade. I’m hoping for a season that’s just as good as the past three. I’m looking at this as a really fun year, and I just hope we can do our best and this ends on a high note.”
That high note now means good health and safety for everyone.