Winter’s Effect on Spring Sports

Spring is a time of rebirth.  Flowers bloom, grass turns green, birds chirp, and sports begin again.  Members of the crew, track, baseball, softball, lacrosse, and golf teams expect to get outside in the warm weather and begin preparing for the season.

But Winter had different plans.  A historic month of February for much of New England dumped foot after foot of snow on us, and the effect is still seen here in late March.  The track is still covered in snow, as are all of the fields.  As a result, teams are not able to practice sufficiently in preparation for their seasons.

Crew Coach Kyle Saraceno agreed with this statement.

“There’s limited space at the school, so we can’t go outside on the track, we can’t do anything we want to do outside, especially when the weather’s cold.”

Sports that usually practice outside now have to share the interior of the school with other teams.  Student-athletes can be found running through the halls or up and down stairs after school.  Practices are happening in strange locations. Crew has been practicing in the auditorium lobby.  Tennis has taken over the yoga room.  Golf and baseball are in the back gym.

For crew, a water sport, the start of the season has been particularly hard.  Coach Kyle Saraceno talked about the state of Winding Trails, where they practice.

“I talked to the owners of Winding Trails and she said there’s only about 1% available to row right now, so we won’t be on the water until the ice melts.”

Matt Krampitz, coach of Har-Bur Middle School Baseball, is feeling the effects of the winter too.

“We’re going to have to alternate days and share the Har-Bur gym with the girls softball team for the foreseeable future.”

Josh Krampitz, coach of Mills track, says they have not been able to actually use the track so far this season, yet they have their first scrimmage today.  The start to the season may have to be pushed back because of the weather.

However, Lewis Mills is not alone.  Across the state, and the region, schools will have to to adjust to the crazy winter.