In Cambridge, Byrne had just made final preparations for a team film study when he got the word from Harvard administrators that the Crimson’s season was done.
“How do I soothe the wounds of the student-athletes and also the seniors who will never put on the jersey again?” Byrne said.
Byrne turned to familiar coping strategies despite the extraordinary circumstances. He asked the seniors to speak, to impart words of wisdom on the underclassmen so that they might carry on with the work they started together. The players took turns saying how much they care about each other, what Harvard lacrosse means to them and why they harbor hope for the future of the program.
“I’m unbelievably saddened, but I also have to trust the leadership of Harvard and this league that they know more about this situation than I do,” Byrne said. “As I told the players, if this is the worst day of your life, you’re going to have a pretty good life.”
After the team meeting, without any coaches present, the Crimson suited up together one more time during their regularly scheduled practice time Wednesday. They shot around, ran a few drills and cherished the opportunity to play lacrosse together one last time before leaving campus for who knows how long.
“That’s what the really good teams do, right? They work when no one’s around,” Byrne said. “It’s the pain of potential. We all use the metaphor that you’ve got to practice or play like it’s the last day you’re going to play, and goddamn if it wasn’t true.”
Justin Feil and Nelson Rice contributed to this report.