As the last of the 20-plus inches of snow melt away, the CHS fields are still saturated and muddy, but this will not cause any setbacks in the spring sports schedule, which starts before spring break. All practices and games will proceed as scheduled.

“Mother nature has melted the snow and our teams will return to their ‘normal’ practice locations as fields dry out,” CHS athletic director Dave Kelley said.

Despite holding tryouts in both the main and auxiliary gyms, spring teams were able to have outdoor practices beginning the week of March 8.  Although the shared gym time was eventually split evenly among all sports, the different surfaces had an effect on the outdoor team sports.

“Indoor practices are never as good as outdoor [practices],” sophomore girls lacrosse player Ping Ni said. “The balls bounce differently and there is much less space.”

The big question going into the spring sports season was how to deal with the melting snow. The solution is to let the fields dry naturally, and the season will go on as planned with no deviations or rescheduling necessary.

 “We were concerned about how practicing in the gym would affect us later in the season,” said sophomore boys lacrosse player Cameron Moshyedi. “But adjusting to the grass won’t be too difficult.”

As for concerns about the safety of athletes on muddy fields, especially the baseball diamond, there is a general understanding that the fields will eventually dry and there will be no issues. It is expected that the terrain will be slippery for a while, but the athletes have cleats with spikes for added traction.

According to Kelley, there have been absolutely no complaints from parents regarding the safety of their kids.

Even with the tarp covering all fields throughout the winter, the water from the melted snow found a way under, leaving the fields moist. Continuous use could possibly tear up the surface, but athletes do not seem to worry.

“Although the fields are not in ideal playing condition, it actually helps us if it rains during the season,” Moshyedi said. “As for now, we will wait it out.”