Spring presents a variety of challenges, weather only one

Each high school sports season seems to have its own particular attitude and feeling that comes with it. Fall sports bring the excitement of a new school year with cool autumn afternoons and homecoming on the horizon while winter sports bring the competition indoors away from the cold and ice along with transitioning into the second half of the year. Heading into this spring’s athletic schedule, warm weather and an approaching summer is just one of the things on the minds of local student athletes, administrators, and fans as they head outdoors again.

After one of the hardest winters to hit the Midwest in quite some time, as if on que, the first week of March brought us long-awaited clear skies and sunshine with temperatures in the 50’s just in time for spring sports to get under way. But with the ground soaked from the winter’s continuous snow, it could be awhile until playing surfaces return to their ideal condition. Weather is just one factor that makes the spring unique for athletic directors and coaches.

“This year in particular it’s going to be awful because we don’t know when we’re going to dry out,” Park Hill Athletic Director Bill Sobbe said of the playing surfaces. “We’re probably not going to play our first couple games.”

Even before the first rounds of games come around, coaches have to make roster decisions, possibly before even stepping outdoors, which can be a difficult task when practices are held indoors or on non-playing surfaces. While the weather may delay the start of some teams’ seasons, Sobbe says they’ll make up almost every game at the varsity levels.

Although spring brings a number of things to look forward to for students and athletes, it can also bring potential headaches in the form of distractions for players and teams.

“It’s a different atmosphere because you’re coming to the end of a period. When you have the end of school, the end of seniors’ year, there’s all the excitement about finishing up,” Park Hill Athletic Director Bill Sobbe said.

Graduation and the events surrounding it, Prom, and standardized testing are just a few of the activities thrown in on top of the unpredictable weather that can throw out of sync some of the routines coaches strive to keep consistent.

“All of those things change the way kids look at spring sports,” Sobbe said. “The kids that are spring athletes they have to be able to focus through all those distractions. If they’re a true spring athlete and they want to pursue it in college, they’ve got the added pressure.”

This causes coaches to be creative and mindful when arranging practice schedules and the emphasis they place on each area of the game. Some may vary the length of practices and amount of time balanced between fundamentals and strategy or game situations in order to maintain focus.

“I think the way you go about practice is a key component of keeping them on task,” Sobbe said. “You try to keep them fresh in what they’re doing for games.”

A spring sports season can be particularly difficult for seniors going into their final weeks of high school. Their ability to stay committed throughout the season can sometimes be the difference maker for a team in a conference or district title race.

“The hardest thing to do with seniors is to get them to stay focused on the main goal, to stay together and win,” Sobbe said. “You hope you don’t have distractions in conference and districts, those couple games can swing things a different way.”

There were positive signs last week as teams hoped to at least limit one distraction in the weather, as conditions improved enough to practice outside. Although the baseball team was limited to the outfield grass and the soccer team utilized the turf football field while sharing with the track and field team, it’s better than inside.

As Sobbe noted, “You have to get out when you can because we might be the best team in the gym, but it doesn’t matter if we’re not while on grass.”