STU men's soccer program at risk after losing recruits because of pandemic

The St. Thomas University men's soccer program is at risk of not being able to field a team next year, according to head coach John-Ryan Morrison.

For the team to survive, Morrison said he needs to recruit 15 new players for next season.

"I just hope we have a team next year to be honest," said Morrison. "Right now it's still up in the air."

Because of the pandemic, Morrison said some recruits who were going to play this year have opted out. Some decided to go to other schools, and others have deferred for the year.

The Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association, the conference in which the St. Thomas Tommies play, announced in the summer that there would be no league play and no championship for soccer in 2020.

Teams would still be allowed to practice, as long as they followed provincial and university guidelines.

But Morrison said St. Thomas University gave his team the green light to practice too late.The university told Morrison in mid August that he couldn't start practices until Sept. 15th.

"It was certainly... a huge kick in the butt for sure," said Morrison.

Most of Morrison's team is from outside Atlantic Canada, and only two of his players are in Fredericton.

"In June if I could've told the guys, 'yes we'll be training Sept. 1st. You have to be here (Aug. 15) to self isolate.' Then I would've had most of my team here," said Morrison.

"By the time STU told us that we could train, and it wasn't until Sept. 15, by then it was just too late."

Morrison said the players would also have to take on the financial challenge of living in residence, even though there aren't any in-person classes.

Mike Eagles, athletic director for St. Thomas University, confirmed that many students from outside the region stayed home and the university respects their decision to do so.

"It is concerning that we have a small contingent for men's soccer," said Eagles in an emailed statement.

But Eagles is hopeful the team can still bring in enough players for next season.

"We know that COVID could play a part in the decision of these athletes to return next year and for incoming recruits in the future. Hopefully, our veteran players will return and we will be able to recruit enough new players into our program to fill the roster."

Across the hill

College Hill isn't completely devoid of soccer this year. The UNB Reds were able to bring players in and start practices in August.

The Reds play in a different league than the Tommies, but Reds coach Barry Morrison agreed to let STU's two local players train with the team. The Reds have been playing games with modified rules against local club teams.

Ravtej Singh is training with the Reds, and would be going into his second year with the Tommies. He's been missing having his friends on campus, and games to look forward to.

"It's like a part that goes missing. We're a community here. We're a small school and we're all just together all the time," said Singh.

"It's like there's no one here right now."

Other east coast teams such as Holland College and UNB Saint John have been able to hold practices and train with players as well.

Recruiting 15 new players

John-Ryan Morrison said he recruits a lot from outside of the province, and the pandemic is making that a challenge.

"There's a lot of schools with soccer programs in Atlantic Canada and not that many players right now that are capable of competing at that level," said Morrison.

"So I go to Ontario and I go to B.C. and I go internationally to find those players that want a good education and to play for a playoff team."

Morrison said it will be difficult because he won't be able to meet the players in-person and they won't be able to visit Fredericton.

And even if he does get enough recruits, it will take a lot of work to make the team competitive.

"If we can find enough players, it will basically be an entirely new team," said Morrison.

This would've been Morrison's sixth season coaching the team. His team has finished second in the league twice, and bottom of the league twice. But over the past two years the team has been able to make playoffs.

Morrison is hopeful he can get the players he needs, and continue the program's momentum.

"We are optimistic that we're going to have a strong squad in 2021 and it's just a lot of work that's going to have to go into recruiting between now and then," said Morrison.