For another rainy afternoon, Matt VanVleet’s cleats clacked on the gym floor, his bat resting on his shoulders and equipment sitting on hardwood meant for basketball games.
It’s not how the Klahowya Secondary School pitcher and catcher imagined the second month of the 2011 regular season, but the cold, rainy, windy weather has stretched into spring.
“There’s only so many things you can do in a gym,” said VanVleet.
The cooler weather has affected nearly all spring sports squads, including baseball, fastpitch, golf, lacrosse, girls tennis and track and field, leading to postponements and cancellations, and consequently, rescheduled games and meets.
During the first three weeks of the regular season, Olympic College baseball had five games rained out and the softball team had nine cancelled due to rain.
Meanwhile, boys soccer teams have endured steady rain, and an appearance of snow in Hood Canal communities like Seabeck.
VanVleet said last week the Eagles baseball team is getting cabin fever.
“It’s really hard to not be on the grass right now,” said the junior, who also plays infield. “We’re just not used to the way the game is supposed to be played, on the grass, and that’s tough for us.”
Despite the recent appearance of the sun and slightly rising mercury, the cold, rainy weather pattern known as La Niña continues to linger through April, causing cancellations and postponements of spring sports games that are rescheduled or moved to other sites as a result.
As schedules undergo changes and contests are pushed into a shorter span, it makes for a more grueling stretch with injuries and fatigue of players a concern by coaches. Varsity and junior varsity teams are forced to share gym space at practice, while parents and fans continue to attend games in chilly temperatures.
Field conditions, hampered by mud and swampy grass, have sent high schools looking for alternative locations to play.
“This is the worst I’ve seen,” said Olympic High School Athletic Director Nate Andrews. “We’ve got a lot to make up.”
The average high temperature for the first 15 days of April in Bremerton was 51.7 degrees, edging out a record as the coldest since people started keeping track, National Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg said Tuesday. The previous record was 52.1 degrees, set in 1982. The regional average for western Washington was 50.1 degrees, eclipsing the previous record of 50.9, set in 1953. In addition, Bremerton saw three inches of rain in the first half of April, Burg said. An average of 3.46 inches falls in Bremerton every April, he added.
“It’s cold and wet,” he said.
A common worry among baseball and softball coaches watching their players battle the weather in addition to opponents is players’ stamina. Postponements most often result in doubleheaders and consecutive days of games, which means pitchers have to adjust.
VanVleet said he’s concerned that fatigue could eventually catch up with the Eagles.
“Our field is gone, and we’re getting tired quicker,” he added. “We simply don’t have the stamina we should have for games. It’s different once you jump from the gym floor to the grass.”
Central Kitsap High School’s Bill Baxter has coached the baseball team for 18 seasons, and said last week this season is one of the coldest and rainiest he’s seen with the Cougars. The rain has sent the team inside for a majority of practices, which include drills on hardwood instead of grass.
Relays and fly ball drills are most affected by mother nature, he added.
“You’re not going to practice the way you’re going to play, and that’s frustrating for me,” said Baxter, who is also Central Kitsap’s athletic director, after another practice at the gym. “This scrambles up everything.”
Starting the season inside the school’s gymnasium worked in the first few weeks because the Cougars were only focused on fundamentals, Baxter said, but now that the rain has continued through April, it will take more time to warmup.
“You get those jitters out of the way, and the next thing you know, you’re having to do it again because you can’t practice outside,” Baxter said. “You play a game, have two weeks in the gym, then play again, so it’s like having the first game all over again.”
Olympic’s Andrews, who is also coaching baseball for an 11th season, said Monday that the slew of postponed games has allowed the Trojans to rest more and still compete. His only concern regards continuity with drills on the field.
“It’s not too bad, we’re staying fresh,” he added. “But with all of these days inside, it’s killing our drills and any chance of momentum.”
Despite the disproportionate schedule, which could see Olympic play eight games in 11 days later this month, Andrews said he will still follow his own mandates on rotating pitchers. Players who throw 60 pitches or less receive two days rest, while those who toss more than 60 earn four days off of the mound.
“No one single game is that important to risk a kid’s arm,” he added. “We stick to our guns on that. We may lose games, but I’m not going to risk it because in the end, we’ll have everyone at 100 percent when it matters.”
The rainy weather is also taking a toll on teams not competing on the diamond. Jeremy Blum, the first-year track and field head coach for Bremerton High School, said last week the Knights aren’t able to compete in some events due to wet conditions. Bremerton was unable to compete in the jumping events at a meet against North Mason High School April 14. The Knights coach added that water builds up in the athletes’ shoes, while slippery hands can also make for skewed distances in the throwing games, like the javelin or shot put.
“It starts to bother the kids a lot,” Blum said. “It’s something all the schools are dealing with right now and we just have to practice through it.”
Olympic track coach Greg Chapman said Monday that the school’s field used for throwing practices has been muddy and “swamp-like” this season. Serena Santos, a sophomore for the Trojans who competes in the shot put and long jump, is also annoyed by the weather.
“My hands are just frozen,” she said regarding the shot put event. “It’s hard for me to hold on to the ball, and it doesn’t make me throw as far as I’d want to because it’s so slippery.”
Bremerton girls tennis coach Bryan Webb said Monday that his Knights squad has spent 75 percent of practices in the gym. Tennis players aren’t gaining enough time with partners for doubles matches, he added, while it’s also become harder for underclassmen to earn spots on varsity.
The forecast ahead
The spring of 2011 has produced an above-average amount of rainfall and below-average cold temperatures in western Washington due to the La Niña weather pattern, said National Weather Service meteorologist Dennis D’Amico last week. The weather trend will continue through April, but will diminish as warmer temperatures and dry conditions are expected this weekend, he added. He predicts La Niña will end by June. Burg also said Friday and Saturday would include dry, warmer temperatures, but added that a new system is coming Sunday that will bring rainy, cold weather.
Staying out of the cold
Crosspoint Academy, which provides golf and track and field as its two spring sports, has managed without any postponements or cancellations, said Rick Nohmy, the school’s athletic director.
