Eric SorensonMany have been hit hard by the news that schools will not return to campus for the remainder of the academic year. It’s a tough and transformative time for all, but especially for the senior class, the class of 2020. Sports360AZ wants to hear from those seniors on how they’re adjusting, what they’re feeling and how this experience can make them stronger moving forward in a segment we call “2020 Vision.”
After a successful season reeling in his textbook, high wire catches from his good friend Ben Finley, Paradise Valley High wide receiver Joevanni Haddad was ready to make the transition from football to high jump this spring before calling it a career at PV.
Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic changed all that.
“It was definitely a shock,” Haddad said in a recent Skype interview with Sports360AZ.com about the abrupt change of plans. “Obviously, I never expected that to happen. I was very excited to finish my senior year strong with my friends on the track team. The fact that it was all done and all gone, it didn’t really hit me…until school got canceled. When they said that, I was a little emotional.”
One silver lining of the recent pandemic for Haddad is the additional time he’s been able to spend with those close to him.
“It’s been hard because I obviously want to see my friends but it has been a good thing because I was able to see a lot of my family, be home a little bit,” he said. “It was hard but it was also a blessing at the same time.”
As a four-year varsity performer, 6-foot, 180-pound captain was viewed as one of the leaders of a veteran group who “grew up” together in the Trojan program.
“The brotherhood,” he explained when asked what he’ll remember most about his time in the program. “That’s the one thing about PV. We’ve always just been brothers, no matter what we’ve been through. It was just so cool to be able to call them my teammates and to go out on the field every Friday night and play a game we love.”
He said PV is planning to hold a graduation, in some capacity, either in June or July.
Haddad will then attend Grand Canyon University where he plans on studying nursing and, while at GCU, possibly come back to his alma mater to help Coach Davis in some capacity if needed.
