What could’ve been: Thursday, May 5

It's the beginning of May, the height of spring sports in the state of Iowa. In a normal year, the four Iowa High School spring sports would have just finished off a jam-packed April, and the high school sports world would be heading into postseason play.

This May has brought the sports world nothing but more uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 lockdown. Spring sports were officially cancelled in April, and the tracks, tennis courts, golf courses and soccer fields have been emptier than ever.

Today would have been conference championship day in Track and Field. Golf sectionals were also meant to begin this week. The tennis postseason would have started next week, and the state track and field qualifiers were set for one week from today, May 14.

Most of the spring sports teams were unable to get off the ground in 2020. Indoor track and field season had just begun when the Coronavirus fallout began, and the soccer, tennis and golf seasons had not yet begun.

In most states, where the athletic calender ends after spring, the year in sports has officially come to an end. Iowa, though, is still in a waiting period reguarding the potential return of the summer sports season. Games were scheduled to start up in late May, but the high school sports lockdown has been extended until June 1 at the earliest. Governor Kim Reynolds has said she hasn't ruled out the return of summer sports, but with the final decision pushed back until June 1, nobody knows whether or not Iowa high school baseball and softball teams could take the field.

If there are no summer sports, the Iowa high school sports season would be over, and the next-man-up would be fall sports, which begin in late August. If that's the case, high school sports in the state of Iowa would have locked down for over five months.