June 12, 2020 at 11:38 a.m.
Martin: 'I was crushed' when spring sports were canceled
Martin: 'I was crushed' when spring sports were canceled
Drake Martin began the 2020 spring season with high hopes.
The senior was a key cog last year in helping the Rhinelander High School boys' track team win its first conference title since 1967. After qualifying for the WIAA Division 2 sectional meet in the shot put, long jump and triple jump, Martin had bigger aspirations this season.
"Coming in this year, I was really excited because I thought I had a chance to make it to state in one of my events at least," Martin said.
Those dreams were put on hold in mid-March with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and were officially dashed April 21 when the WIAA canceled all competitions and tournaments for the 2020 spring sports season.
"I didn't think track was going to be canceled, but then when it did, I was crushed. It was tough," Martin said.
The disappointment was twofold for Martin. Not only was he denied an opportunity to end his high school career on the big stage, competing at Veterans Memorial Stadium in La Crosse in the WIAA state meet, he missed out on a last chance to compete with friends and teammates.
That was specially true for Martin and his best friend, Peyton Erikson (who will be profiled in a later installment of this series). The two pushed each other in the long and triple jumps as well as the sprints - where both would have potentially been in the mix to take spots on the 4x100 and 4x200 relays that were occupied by seniors last year.
"I took it for granted, training with everybody and just the team aspect," Martin said. "That was tough, not being about to train with everybody. Then, not being able to see what I had, to see if I could make it to state."
Even without a trip to the state track meet, Martin will leave RHS with an impressive resume. He played a key role in the RHS football team's resurgence this past fall, as the Hodags posted their first winning record since 1994.
He rushed for more than 3,500 yards in his career, putting him second on the school's all-time rushing list, behind only Troy Doering.
On the basketball court this winter, Martin was a second-team All-GNC selection and finished second on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg), while leading the Hodags in rebounds (5.0 rpg) and assists (3.4 apg). In addition to qualifying for sectionals in three events last year in track, Martin was part of the GNC-championship winning 4x200 relay and placed third in the conference in triple jump.
Martin's success on the gridiron led him to commit to NCAA Division-III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater back in February. That commitment has proven beneficial in more ways than one. For starters, unlike a majority of seniors, Martin can take comfort in the fact that his playing career has not come to a premature end.
"If I was done with sports forever, I feel like I'd be a little more heartbroken, just because it ended the way it did," he said. "The fact that I get to play on in college is a nice bonus."
Secondly, in signing with Whitewater, Martin has been given instructions on how to prepare for the upcoming fall season.
While some student-athletes have struggled with the lack of structure that comes with learning and being a part of a team in a virtual setting, Martin said his experience has been the exact opposite.
"Honestly, it's almost been better for me not having school," he said, as he took a break from a workout to conduct this interview via the phone. "I've had more time to myself to do body (workouts). Whitewater sent me this workout program, so I have more time to come to the field, run and stuff, do bodyweight conditioning at my house. I've had more time to just better myself."
The extra time has also led to extra time to reflect about current events. Regarding how the pandemic has impacted him personally, Martin said, "It doesn't even seem real, everything that's going on. It sucks that it happened to us, but we can't really do anything about it, so we've just got to move forward and do what we can do."
The headlines also include the death of George Floyd, which sparked protests and demonstrations nationwide about racial inequality and police brutality.
Those protests included ones in the Northwoods earlier this month.
Martin, who is African American, shared his thoughts on what it has been like being a black athlete in a predominately white community.
"For me, honestly, being an athlete and stuff, I guess I was kind of put in a category, being one of the only African Americans in Rhinelander," he said. "I've dealt with stuff here and there in my school and from other teams and stuff, but nothing too major - almost like small stuff I kind of brush off. I get used to it and I kind of just push it past me and just move on."
When asked to expand on those experiences, Martin said, "I've been called the N-word and stuff. It doesn't happen too frequently, but it happens sometimes - here and there bias ... People make assumptions and racial biases against me."
Martin said the demonstrations, along with the countless number of sports leagues, athletes and celebrities speaking out against racial inequality, are an encouraging sign.
"Everybody knows what's happening. It's actually cool to see how many people are supporting around the community and around the NFL, NBA, stuff like that," he said. "It's cool to see that everybody's, I feel like we're taking the right step forward."
As the calendar turns from June to July, Martin is hoping there will be some return to normalcy.
Rhinelander High School plans to take part in an abbreviated spring sports season next month. For the RHS track team, that means a chance to practice early in the month culminating with a two-part track meet in Three Lakes July 14 and 17.
"I think I'm going to try to do that just to see what my numbers would have been if I would have competed this year," Martin said. "It would be good to just, hopefully, train with everybody - one last thing before the seniors leave."
As for advice Martin would give to his teammates, and those going through similar challenges as a result of the cancellation of the 2020 spring sports season, he said, "The No. 1 thing for me was just not to take stuff for granted - going to school and practices. It ended so quickly. It was tough. Just put your best foot forward, do what you can and just try to improve yourself."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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