“It was a rush of disbelief, disappointment and tears because it’s over, and you’re not getting to finish what you started,” said the team’s coach, Dave Donarski, whose daughter Lexi, an Iowa State recruit and McDonald’s all-American, was supposed to be playing her final high school game.

Donarski said he understood it was the right call, but he was still disappointed for his team.

“Can’t we delay it?” he said. “Can we give it two weeks? I just wished we had pumped the brakes a bit. I think it’s a little bit of mass hysteria.”

Even the most well-informed health professionals felt the hole in their heart at the prospect of missing their daughters and sons compete for who knows how long?

Dr. Andrew Stolbach is an emergency physician and a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He also is a wrestling coach for his 12-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter’s club in Baltimore.

“I was disappointed when they canceled our state tournament — there were kids graduating from the program that I’ve known for five years that are not going to get a proper send-off,” Dr. Stolbach said. “But we don’t need organized sports right now when we are trying to slow this virus down. You’re not just bringing kids to games. You are bringing parents and grandparents together. It’s just not necessary to put so many people at risk.”