Nashua North's Travis Holbrook fields a grounder during drills on the first day of spring practice Monday. It's the first Titans baseball practice in nearly two years. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA – Alex Messig had trouble falling asleep on Sunday night.

That’s what the antcipation of the first baseball tryouts/practice at Nashua High School North in two years did to Messig, a Titan senior, and likely other school athletes around the area

Monday is when it all began, about a year after spring sports were first delayed by the pandemic and ultimately cancelled in mid to late April.

But now, it’s back, and so were athletes all over the area.

“It was hard to sleep last night,” Messig said. “Just real excited. I was just anxious, you know? I think a lot of people are.”

That included over at Stellos Stadium, where the Bishop Guertin girls lacrosse team were practicing mid-afternoon, to be followed in the evening by the North girls squad. Cardinals coach Leslie Why said her players knew exactly how many days it had been since the team was last together.

“They told me 677 days since the last time Guertin played a girls lacrosse game,” Why said. “Multiple kids knew it.”

For Guertin senior Maddie Keating, being on the Motta Field turf at Stellos was special.

“I’ve been waiting for this day,” Keating said. “I haven’t stepped on this field since sophomore year. I played volleyball (in the fall), it’s been awhile.

“I was just so excited for tryouts today and to get the season going. I was overwhelmed with emotions. I haven’t been here in so long. It was just crazy to step on the field and get geared up on this field. It just means so much to the BG community.”

And the Nashua community as a whole. Teams will have tryouts and practices for just two weeks – normally it’s a three week process – before games begin on Monday, April 12.

“It’s unbelievable to be back out here,” North baseball coach Zach Harris said. “You could tell these kids were just itching to go.”

In fact, Harris said, they were all hanging around the North practice fields hoping things could start earlier than the 3:30 p.m. time.

“They were asking if we could start and not wait for anybody else,” Harris said. “They’re loving being out here right now.”

Numbers are low, Harris said, across the board, and he mainly has upperclassmen, not a lot of younger players. But the older ones, like Messig, had to be the most anxious because they missed that year.

“I’ve got a lot of seniors that could have used the varsity experience last year,” Harris said. “They’re itching to play some varsity baseball and get back out here.”

“It’s awesome,” Messig said. “We haven’t been able to play since my sophomore year. With these guys, it’s a lot of fun, it’s good.”

Why has been waiting awhile, too. She was named the new BG varsity girls lax coach back in September of 2019 – and Monday was her first practice.

Finally.

“It was amazing,” Why said. “They started off by being in this huge circle of 60 kids, all trying to spread out a little bit, fully masked. We broke into four groups, to keep the numbers down. It was great, it was fun.

“Tryouts are always tough. It’s not necessarily a practice where it’ fun and high paced. It’s a tryout, where you’re trying to see specific kids do specific things, so it’s not always super fun for everyone, and it’s super stressful for some kids. But I think they all were really happy to be out there.”

Messig, who did get to play ball last summer with the New Hampshire Prospects AAU team, remembers the feeling when it was ultimately determined by the NHIAA, following state guidelines, that the spring season would not happen.

“It was tough, we didn’t get to play with our seniors last year,” Messig said. “That definitely was not good. We’re just really fortunate to play this year.”

Guertin senior lacrosse standout Lindsay Hult said she was texting her teammates last spring, telling them to prepare, figuring the delay would only be a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, it was a year.

“As it got pushed further back, we didn’t get less motivated, but stayed hopeful, hope for the best,” she said. “We were just devastated when it got cancelled.”

That made Monday extra special.

“I think so,” she said. “It’s just been so long, and this is probably like the one I wait for the most.”

That wait is now over. In fact, Hult said she didn’t know what to do when she arrived at Stellos. Hult played field hockey in the fall and was a member of the Guertin state title girls hockey team this winter, but lacrosse is her main sport as she’ll be one of an astounding 16 players in the Cardinal program committed to playing in college. She’ll be at Holy Cross in the fall.

“When I walked in I didn’t know how to feel, I haven’t been here for lacrosse in what, two years?” she said. “I totally forgot what to expect for tryouts because it’s been so long. But I’m excited.”

Hult, who did play some indoor lacrosse in the winter, was glad to be outdoors, as it’s considered safer during this pandemic.

“So much more space, and fresh air,” she said.

Messig said that he and his teammates are taking nothing for granted.

“We have to take every day like it’s our last day,” he said. “Just because of COVID and everything.”

But he eventually got his eight hours of sleep in the other night. Good thing, because Monday was a busy day – in a good way.

High school spring sports have officially returned.

Newsletter