Unforgiving spring weather impacts sports seasons

Not only does the weather affect roads or schools, but it also affects spring sports.

Men’s soccer, women’s tennis and women’s track are just a few of the upcoming spring sports that’ll certainly be affected by the cold, snowy weather. With the weather as bad as it is, safety is the first complication.

“With all this snow and ice, it can be very slippery out on the tennis field, which can be dangerous to the girls,” women’s tennis assistant coach Sheryl Dekutoski said.

Junior high women’s track coach Joe Brown agreed. “This year, we’ve already had one girl fall on the ice. Along with this, last year we had a broken collarbone due to the slippery mud,” Brown said.

Another big complication with this sort of weather is the cold and how the team is going to stay warm. “We really like to bundle up with hats, mittens, soccer pants and sweatshirts,” men’s soccer athlete senior Jackson Nichols said.

Women’s tennis head coach Mike Knox said he feels the same way about tennis. “The girls put on as many layers as possible. They’re pretty good about that. They wear team sweats, gloves, hats and basically anything to keep their upper bodies warm. We didn’t have to worry about this problem last year, since last year the temperature was around 80 degrees,” Knox said.

Of course, with this weather, there’s always worry about the cancellation of games or practices. “This weather has dramatically affected practice. The varsity girls have played only indoors, which costs money, and there hasn’t really been any practices for JV or non-varsity teams. March 26 was the first official practice. By now, we should’ve had a week to 10 days of practice,” Knox said.

Men’s soccer faces the same problem. “We haven’t been able to go outside yet. It’s mostly been in the gym, which isn’t helpful since there’s limited space. Along with this, the fields are slushy, so we don’t get an accurate feel of what a game will feel like. Hopefully, we’ll be ready,” Nichols said.

According to Brown, not only has this year’s weather affected practices for junior high women’s track, but the past few years as well. “Two years ago, we had five track meets in basically nine days since all of the meets got postponed. It was terrible,” Brown said.

But even if the weather brings all these complications to various spring sports, the coaches have faith in their teams. “The girls are all season veterans. They play indoors all winter and are used to this sort of weather. Most of them have been playing tennis for two or three years and know what to expect,” Dekutoski said.

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