By Damani Eason; The Whetstone

Junior Dominick Williams was ready to throw on the football pads this fall and get back to playing the sport he loves.

Now, he must carry the love he has for football into the spring while also playing the other sport he loves, baseball.

“My body is ready to face the challenges of playing two sports,” Williams said

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s announcement that all fall sports will be conducted and played during the spring caused many fall athletes who play a spring sport to face the dilemma of balancing fall and spring sports next semester.

The NCAA said it does not know how the difference will balance in the spring.

“They were still working the kinks out,” an NCAA spokeswoman said.

Athletic Director Tracy Short said she has been trying to create her own plan for the spring, but she is also relaying on the NCAA.

“We have not made any definitive plans as we wait for the NCAA and conferences to determine what spring sports will be permitted to participate in,” she said

Some athletes have already picked what sport they will play.

Both sophomore Samuel Courtney and freshman Benjamin Dawson said they were both slated to run cross country this fall, but when they found cross country might interfere with baseball, they chose baseball.

“I am disappointed I can’t run cross country this year but, either way, adding another sport on top of a busy baseball season would be too much,” Courtney said. “Baseball has always been my main sport.”

Dawson picked baseball for a different reason.

“If I had a better idea on classwork and all that, I may have done both,” he said.

Some coaches said they have been preparing themselves to face schedule conflicts with athletes that play two sports.

Juli Greep, head softball coach, said she will have several dual athletes.

“My best advice (for dual athletes) is to work extremely hard during fall and winter to make sure their bodies were at the right fitness level to ensure they can safely achieve all their athletic goals within both programs.”

Football Head Coach Chip Knapp said it will be very hard for an athlete to compete the requirements of playing two sports.

“It would possibly be quite difficult for an athlete to participate in two sports because there are certain requirements for each athlete to meet to participate in each sport,” he said.

Williams said he is keeping positive and ready to do his best.

“Every opportunity there is to step foot on either field, to go out and do what I love is a blessing,” he said.