With all of the conflicts and delays caused by the poor weather, spring sports teams at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and around the state, are looking to finish their seasons. The inability for teams to play games earlier has now left sports teams with a shortened amount of time to complete the entirety of their seasons.
All spring sports have been affected in some way because of the weather but, depending on the sport, some sports will be able to complete their entire schedules. “Lacrosse will get in all their games, boys and girls, softball at the varsity level we’re anticipating getting in a full schedule, baseball we’re still looking to get a full schedule, but golf will only play about half their matches,” said Mr. Jerry Pettinger, BSM athletic director.
The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) allows for a sports season to be 12-14 weeks long, but with the weather, around five or six weeks will be remaining in the spring sport season. The MSHSL does not want to extend the season into summer because of conflicts it could cause with people’s summer plans. “Extending the seasons would surely run afoul of plans that students, coaches and families have already made based on the dates when spring seasons were supposed to end,” said Mr. John Millea, media director of the MSHSL.
Another reason the MSHSL can’t extend the spring sport season is the facility contracts for section and state tournaments that have a set date for events. “It’s impossible to re-do all those contracts and still have suitable places for all those tournaments to be held,” Millea said.
While teams have been unable to use the time to participate in events and competitions due to cancellations or postponements, they have found ways to prepare for the season using any means possible. “We have had to get very creative with practices, doing many more days inside than normal” said Mr. Jon Porisch, Track and Field coach. Baseball and softball teams have used the Haben Center, normally home to basketball and volleyball matches, as their practice grounds taking ground balls off of wood instead of grass.
One solution BSM is taking to fit in all games is the use of double-headers. “You start playing two games a day at some point, whether it be baseball, softball, or tennis,” said Pettinger. With all the games needing to be played, there will be extra pressure on players to stay focused and fight fatigue. “It will be tough playing everyday and trying to get all the games in,” said senior baseball captain Dan Labosky.
Playing all of their games in such a tight window of time also reduces practice time later in the season for teams and games where coaches and managers can evaluate their teams and prepare for playoffs. “It’s going to be a challenge to get to as good as we can by the time of playoffs because of the shortened season,” said Labosky.
Another solution would be to play as many games as possible up until sections and then finish the remaining games after the team has been eliminated from state contention and resuming up until the end of the state tournament. “The Spring Sports season has always been through the state tournament [of that sport], so once you’re eliminated you could go back and play games if you wanted to,” said Pettinger.
As the window for spring sports competitions closes, teams will work with each other to ensure that as many games will be played as possible, but to also maximize the experience for the student-athletes. “They’re doing a great job of working with one another to make sure everybody can do the best they can,” said Pettinger.
