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closeInclement weather conditions result in sports cancellations
Rain and snow put damper on athletic contests a week before spring break arrives
Shaun Scott
Adverse weather conditions recently have put a slate of spring sports contests into a tailspin.
Spring snow and rain have resulted in a multitude of cancellations in the high school sporting world from March 26 through March 29 across East Pierce County. Emerald Ridge Athletic Director Dell Dittus said the weather has had the most impact on Jaguars fastpitch and baseball programs.
“Those teams have just taken a beating this spring with the weather,” Dittus said. “I’ve never seen anything like it (snow) this time of year. I’m flabbergasted. I was thinking, ‘You got to be kidding me.’ It kind of reminds me of the Mariners series against Cleveland that got snowed out last year. That’s what this last week has felt like.”
Once a contest is cancelled, it’s a hassle for not only the players themselves but the coaches, parents, athletic directors and umpires.
“Once something is cancelled we have to make sure we let everyone know that needs to know,” Dittus said. “Sometimes that can become a challenge in a short time period.”
Puyallup High School acting Athletic Director Bob Hunt said because of unforeseen weather conditions baseball, fastpitch and tennis contests were postponed.
“Spring can sometimes be rough around here,” Hunt said. “But I can’t remember one that was this bad this early. This is just not normal. Hopefully the weather will clear up soon allowing the schedule to get back on track. We do the best we can to deal with it but it still becomes a headache for everyone,”
Hunt said baseball and fastpitch teams feel the brunt of the cancellations.
“It really effects those teams because pitchers can only pitch so many innings per week. When games are re-scheduled, teams may play three or four games a week,” Hunt said. “The chances of running out of pitchers are much higher.”
Emerald Ridge Jaguars baseball head coach Tim Spears said his team got through the week better off than most local teams battling the elements.
“We got both of our games in on Tuesday and Wednesday. The only game that was cancelled was against Rogers on Friday,” Spears said. “We were lucky to get those in. One of them was only a five inning game.”
Spears agrees with Dittus regarding the monumental challenge of informing all parties involved with the pending cancellation of an athletic contest.
“It’s tough getting the word out to everybody. From parents to kids at different buildings at the school to the scorekeeper,” Spears said. “We have to contact all of them in a short period of time. Being a head coach, its a lot of my responsibility.”
While wintry weather conditions have forced the Jaguars to practice indoors on a consistent basis, it comes much to the chagrin of Spears.
“It’s not really baseball when we’re practicing inside. We’re all pretty grouchy when we have to go indoors,” Spears said. “Being inside limits what you can do. We do a lot of chalk talk and talk about situations and signals but you’re still very limited practicing in a gym. We have to get a little more creative when that happens.”