High school teams take advantage of nice weather with outdoor practices

A strange thing has happened with local spring sports teams in the past few weeks.

They've actually gotten to practice outside.

Cooperative weather has not been the norm in recent springs, but this year conditions have been nothing short of gorgeous.

"You go out to practice already, and it's a normal, nice day - and that's scary," Fargo North baseball coach Jeff Fiechtner said with a laugh. "It's scary because we're just not used to it.

"A normal day in Fargo is not usually warm and wind free."

Compared to last year, which was marred first by a flood and then another deluge of wet weather, this year has been a refreshing change.

"In reference to last year, we're just elated to be outside already," Moorhead activities director Don Hulbert said. "We never thought we would be out this early, but this is the way it should be."

Things were held up last year because of the flood, and teams weren't able to make up every game because things were put on hold for weeks.

"A lot of teams were in the same boat last year, but it really sets you back," West Fargo softball coach Pat Johnson said. "We'd have one day practicing indoors, and then the next day you'd be sandbagging.

"There was just no continuity at all. This year, we hope to get off to a better start - get in a better rhythm."

Because of postponements from the flood, Moorhead's softball team had played only 11 games going into the section tournaments last year.

Hulbert said it's impossible to reschedule every game once the postponements start to pile up, and that isn't fair to the kids.

"The frustrating thing is that coaches and players all want to make up games, but school comes first," Hulbert said. "Everybody gets into the mode of rescheduling every game, but we have to watch the number of times kids miss school in a week.

"And then when they do play, they're playing teams that have been out in the fields for several weeks, and they're not prepared. That isn't fair for the kids."

Most schools have facilities where teams can practice indoors, but taking grounders in the gym isn't the same as fielding on the diamond, and golfers can only swing at an indoor range for so long.

"You can get things done inside, but it isn't the same," Fiechtner said. "The kids want to get out and play, and it's tough to keep them motivated when you're constantly indoors."

When the weather has gotten nice, the make-up dates can start to pile up as teams try to recover from lost time. Johnson said that can also hurt teams.

"It can get to be where you have a couple of practices, and then it's play, play, play, play," Johnson said. "You can overdo it with games, and then you don't have time to work anything out that you need to work on."

The local teams aren't taking it for granted, and some teams actually look like they're going to play their first games on their schedules instead of rescheduling them.

"We sure appreciated weather like this around here more than people elsewhere, I think," Hulbert said. "It's less stressful for coaches, and it's better off for everybody.

"We're going to enjoy it while we have it."

Readers can reach Forum reporter Kerry Collins at (701) 241-5548