When most people think about springtime in Minnesota, they think about green grass, new budding flowers, and the occasional “April showers bringing May flowers.” The reality of the spring season, however, is that it is full of all kinds of adverse weather conditions. It is likely for one to experience a 65F day with the sun shining bright, followed by a day where it’s below 30F and sleeting. Dealing with all kinds of bad weather conditions during the months of April through June is one of the biggest challenges that spring sports teams face during their seasons. Although many teams and sports are affected during their spring seasons, the boys’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ golf, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, and baseball/softball teams experience the most challenges because of cold temperatures and precipitation.

The BSM boys’ tennis team faces the effects of poor weather during their season mostly when it rains. It is not uncommon for their practices and matches to be cancelled or rescheduled due to weather. “A lot of our practices get moved indoors because of rain.  Because of cancellations, in the later weeks of the season when the weather is nice we have to pack 5-6 matches in a week, so fatigue starts to [have] an effect,” senior boys’ tennis captain Max Jablonski said. 

For the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams here at BSM, the weather conditions don’t really determine whether or not practice is happening or not. The lacrosse teams play in all types of weather conditions–rain or shine, 70?F or 20?F. “You have to work against the elements when the elements work against you, besides lightning obviously–you can’t work against lightning,” senior boys’ lacrosse captain Ben Scherer said.

The BSM boys’ and girls’ golf teams spend most of their time during their seasons at a variety of different courses around the Twin Cities Metro Area. Just like the BSM lacrosse teams, there are not a lot of weather conditions that limit the play of the teams. “We have earned the reputation of being one of the school’s toughest teams for a reason, [because] we play through the rain, wind, cold, and even snow. Don’t be surprised if you see the boys’ golf team on the course when the next spring blizzard comes around,” senior boys’ golf captain Colin Segner said.

The BSM baseball and softball teams face a different story from the BSM golf and lacrosse teams during the spring time. When the weather is bad, it affects the game and the ability to play more than other sports, resulting in the change or cancellation of practices and games. “Our games and practices get cancelled and postponed all the time because of the weather. When there is rain, the fields flood and we can’t play, or if it’s cold, our bats can break and it hurts to catch a softball. Usually we just go [to] hit in the [batting] cages inside if the practices get cancelled,” senior softball captain Sedona Brown said.