W

hile the Navy men’s lacrosse team waited in the locker room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to learn the fate of its season, two numbers on the whiteboard held more meaning than any score or stat line.

Days the team had spent together: 200.

Days they were supposed to have left with each other: 45.

“We were hoping for a little more time,” senior goalie Ryan Kern said. 

Kern ranks seventh in program history for career saves and started all 46 games in which he played. The realization he would not get another start was a “shot to the stomach.” 

“It still stings, but I am trying to be more positive about it as the days go on,” Kern said. “I know from an individual standpoint, every time I stepped off that field, I was exhausted because every game I played, I gave my full effort.”

Many spring sport athletes still hold out hope they will get the chance to play another year after the NCAA announced that eligibility relief  was “appropriate.” A March 30 vote of the Division I Council should provide greater clarity in that regard. But that opportunity is off the table for seniors at service academies, including the six on the Navy men’s lacrosse team.

“That's unfortunate from a lacrosse perspective, but it's fortunate because the country needs young men like we have on our team,” said first-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo, who came to Annapolis after seven seasons at the helm for Marquette, where he built the program from the ground up. “It would be more unfortunate for the country if the six seniors that we have were not commissioned officers in May. Our country would be at a severe disadvantage without those six young men leading sailors and Marines.”

Their service assignments include Surface Warfare, Special Warfare, Marine Corps Ground and Naval Flight Officer. But like teams across the country, the Midshipmen are reckoning with a new reality due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Last Friday at 11 a.m., Kern attended his Intelligence and National Security class virtually. He said it was the first time in nine years he could wear sweatpants during a class. 

Two weeks ago, Kern was preparing for his 47th start against John Hopkins. The prior weekend, he made 15 saves in a 16-14 win against Colgate to bring Navy’s record to 3-2. The victory came on the heels of a 14-6 loss to Lehigh. A week before that, Navy’s matchup against Maryland was postponed after upwards of 30 players and staff members displayed symptoms consistent with Norovirus. 

Amplo stressed a back-to-basics approach that offered a reset after a sloppy performance in the Lehigh loss. He scheduled 6 a.m. skill work practices at Halsey Field House. 

“We gave these guys a free voucher for lacrosse camp this week,” Amplo said after the Colgate win. 

On the day the Ivy League announced the cancellation of spring athletics, the Midshipmen, who were on their spring break, participated in a different form of competition on the turf at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium: A water balloon fight.  Amplo said that feels like it was months ago. 

Before the team was set to start an hour-long stick skills practice March 12, Amplo got wind that the Patriot League was meeting that morning to make its own decision about the season. He tried to be as transparent as possible with his players. 

“I told them as information comes to me, I'm going to tell you exactly what it is,” Amplo said. “At that point, that is all I knew. We were going to have some information to share, so I didn't want them to be that surprised by it.”

At 10:30 a.m., the Patriot League Council of Presidents announced in a statement that all spring athletics practices and competitions were canceled through the remainder of the academic year. 

Since the decision by the Patriot League was not effective until March 16, the Midshipmen thought they’d at least get to play Johns Hopkins that weekend. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was scheduled to be presented the key to the city of Annapolis from Mayor Gavin Buckley at halftime.

But before Amplo even got off the phone with Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala an hour later, that game was canceled, too. Amplo resolved the team would scrimmage one last time under the lights at the stadium that Friday night.

Once the players arrived at 5:30 p.m. to divide up the sides, he had to break more bad news. They were not allowed to play.  

“It was sad, but I'm just happy when it happened I was there with all the guys on the team and we were able to lean on each other at that time,” said Brad Alexander, a senior co-captain and short-stick defensive midfielder. 

Despite their physical separation, Amplo has tried to keep the team engaged. They organized a Google Hangouts session last Thursday. The first 15 minutes were filled with a lot of laughs at everyone’s unshaven and out-of-uniform appearance. 

“That was more for me than anyone else,” Amplo said of the virtual meeting. “I miss my guys. You build your life around these young men and you invest so much time, then it's ripped away from you. I just selfishly wanted to get the group back together.”

The face time was more than an opportunity to crack jokes. 

Amplo does not want to look back on these eight or 12 or however many weeks and feel like he missed an opportunity to learn more about his team. He also does not want the team to waste this time. He told the Midshipmen they’d use this unexpected hiatus to work on themselves both individually and collectively. He’d like them to reflect on what the game means to them now that it’s no longer as present in their lives. Plans for a leadership class formed. Reading lists were suggested. 

“That was pretty awesome, because it was the first time seeing everyone and talking to everyone again,” Alexander said. “We're so busy at the academy, the time we do get to spend together we cherish a lot. That's been a piece we've all been missing the past couple days.”

The word Alexander used the most to describe the past two weeks was “weird.” Coming from a place where it seems like every minute is accounted for, last week dragged on with little structure. “I have a lot of free time on my hands now,” he said.

Before virtual classes got underway, Alexander found himself doing a lot of nothing. Scrolling through Instagram, he struggled to watch lacrosse highlights when they popped up in his feed. He’s passed some of the time playing wall ball. 

Alexander also re-read two books he often returns to in times of uncertainty. “The Power of Now” by spiritual teacher and New York Times bestselling author, Eckhardt Tolle, helps him adopt a positive mindset by focusing on the present moment. “Brothers Forever” is a story of courage and sacrifice and friendship. The book focuses on the bond between Brendan Looney and Travis Manion — roommates at the Naval Academy who lost their lives serving the country and are now buried side-by-side in Arlington National Cemetery. 

“If you make the most of what you are doing, there is now way to regret what you are doing,” Looney once said.

Looney was a Navy SEAL lieutenant and standout defensive midfielder whose last game was the 2004 NCAA final in which the Midshipmen narrowly lost to Syracuse. In January, Alexander received one of the highest achievements a Navy lacrosse player can attain. He was chosen by his teammates to wear the No. 40 in honor of Looney’s legacy. 

“It puts things into a different light,” Alexander said of Looney’s story. “Despite how the season ended, every guy in that locker room is here for a greater purpose.”