Rising seniors denied chance to play in all-star games

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still being felt in the high school sports world.

Even as school teams were permitted to begin working out once again on campus in June — with social distancing restrictions — a staple of the Alabama High School Athletic Association summer calendar will be missing.

Each July, the AHSAA conducts its All-Star Week in Montgomery. Part of the activities of the week include games and competitions involving the North-South All-Star teams from each sport. Teams are named from the rising senior classes in each sport, split by geography.

That event didn’t take place this year, but the all-star teams were still named, and many local athletes found their names on the list.

Three Briarwood Christian School student-athletes were honored, as baseball player Wesley Helms and tennis stars Alex Felt and Luke Wolf were named to the teams. The Lions baseball coach, Steve Renfroe, was also named as one of the team’s coaches. All of them had their school seasons cut short in mid-March.

“It means a lot knowing that I made it along with some of the best players in the state,” said Helms, an infielder for Briarwood. “It’s something special that I’m grateful for.”

Helms said it was “upsetting” that he wouldn’t be able to play in an actual game with some of the state’s best, but he is focused on controlling the things he can control.

From Oak Mountain, cross-country’s Walker Cole and soccer players Kaitlin Maynard and Wilson Rhodes were named to teams in their respective sports as well. Cole finished second in the Class 7A boys race in the 2019 AHSA Across-country state championship. Maynard and Rhodes had their spring seasons cut short.

Four Chelsea athletes were honored, including Hope Wright, who helped lead the Lady Hornets volleyball team to the 6A state tournament last fall. Wright has no plans to pursue playing in college, but she gained the satisfaction of knowing she can play on the same level as others who will play collegiately.

“I was honestly very shocked, and I was super excited,” Wright said of her selection. “Being selected showed me I actually had potential to play with girls who were already committed somewhere.”

Wright admitted being upset upon hearing that the all-star game itself would not take place. She was eager to take the court with the state’s best to see where she would stack up.

“When I heard it was canceled, I was devastated, because it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I could have had,” she said.

Also from Chelsea, baseball’s Connor Balland soccer players Haley Duca and Chris Nettuno were named to the teams. Ball was hoping to lead the baseball team back to the state championship series, where the Hornets advanced last year. Duca and Nettuno each had high hopes for their spring seasons as well.

Westminster-Oak Mountain volleyball coach John Jones was named one of the game’s coaches after leading the Lady Knights to the 1A state final.

The 2020 fall seasons are still slated to begin on time in late August. People like Wright are “hopeful [the pandemic] won’t ruin my senior year.”