This is Sideline Stories. A platform where NE10 student-athletes can share their collegiate experiences in an unfiltered environment - using their voices to promote growth and positive change in our league and in all of NCAA Division II athletics.

Marina Skelly, a sophomore on the New Haven women's lacrosse team, was struck hard by the cancellation of spring sports - especially with how it affects her teammates. Though the season was lost, however, she does not consider it a lost season. Here is her Sideline Story:

They say that you don’t know what you have until it is gone.

I never took that statement seriously up until a few weeks ago when in the middle of a practice, two days before our third game of the season, we were told that our season would be put on hold.

You look back at all the effort you put in to make this YOUR season, individually and collectively. Countless hours of practice, mornings where you didn’t feel like getting out of bed, lifting way more than you thought you were able to, creating bonds you will never be able to replace with people you can’t seem to get enough of. Your backbone.

My team is the kind of team that’ll put the weight on their shoulders if it meant taking it off of yours even if it was just for a second, so allow me to do the same.

To my seniors- thank you for your dedication. The pain you are feeling is one I don’t know if I’ll be able to comprehend. I forever will admire your strength for getting through this. I love you all with everything I have.

To my juniors- I am sure this was supposed to be your statement year. And I am so sorry it got cut short. You’ll have to step up a little sooner than expected, but I know that every single one of you are capable of doing so.

To my sophomores- being a sophomore, you guys are my human diary, whether it is picking each other’s heads up from a tough moment or car rides with absolutely no destination.

To my freshmen- you guys showed up for some really big moments. You bring such a positive and optimistic vibe. You have no idea the impact it makes on the rest of us.

You don’t even realize that the practice you JUST had could be the very last one you will ever have. It could all be taken away within the blink of an eye. No one thinks it’s even a possibility until it happens, and even then, it still doesn’t feel real.

It might feel like it was all for nothing, but I promise you that’s not the case. It created a life lesson that you won’t be forgetting. One you can look back on and think to yourself, “If I got through that, then I can get through anything.”

We WILL overcome this. This WILL not be a setback for us, but instead, this hurt is the chip we WILL be carrying on our shoulders when we come to every practice, every scrimmage and every game.

We are taking this experience and we WILL be back next year with a whole new mindset. For every team we play next year, it WILL be apparent we have learned to play with a purpose.

- Marina Skelly