Sylvia Coulter

The rowing team’s boat storage was flooded in April.

  In mid April, Grand Traverse County received massive amounts of rain causing county wide flooding. This not only affected roads and caused the Boardman to overflow around its banks, but it also affected the spring sports seasons. The amount of water that Traverse City received caused mass amounts of damage to the practice and game areas that teams use. However, the teams were able to fix it all up and gain their spirits back.

  For the baseball fields, the grass has to remain light and airy, which makes it easier to play on. However, all the rain caused them to have to play somewhere else.

  “We had to play our first couple games at the Pitspitters’ field. Although it was cool, we played on turf there versus our fields, which are grass. This caused some challenges adjusting to the way the ball bounced on grass vs. the turf we got used to,” senior and baseball player Nick Klein said.

  When the fields are not playable, teams have to go inside to practice. This change in environment can make improving throughout the season difficult.

  “We’re in the gym, which is not ideal. So practices look a little different because we have to use different equipment. But we’re still able to practice inside,” junior and softball player Sydney Fleming said. 

  Another issue with fields not being playable is when it causes games to get canceled. The schedule getting changed can really affect how teams play.

   “We had a bunch of games canceled, which sucked because our fields weren’t playable. So indefinitely it didn’t ruin our fields, but just like we had to do a lot of maintenance and upkeep to try to get them back to normal. It’s definitely frustrating when you keep getting games canceled and you don’t know when they’re going to be rescheduled, especially our important conference games, because we know we have to make those up, but it’s just a little frustrating,” Fleming said.

  The inconsistency of the schedule can additionally affect team morale and change mindsets, especially when hopes are high for a certain event or game. The rowing team practices at Boardman Lake and their boathouse was flooded.

  “A lot of people, including me, were initially stressed, but our team is really focused and committed to staying positive. I know that initially it was stressful trying to solve the problems created by the flooding, but we don’t have time to be sad, our races are more important than our temporary feelings,” junior and rower Leah Clark said.

  But even though the weather has not been great for spring sports, it is still a valuable lesson to know how to overcome tough challenges. This experience has definitely taught the players to keep their heads up.

  “Sometimes [the schedule] can [mess with your mindset], due to getting your mind ready for a certain opponent on a certain day that just doesn’t come around. I feel like [the season] has gone ok, but we could definitely be doing better,” Klein said.