OPINION: Spring Sports, Mother Nature Give Glimpse of Normal

I was so excited for spring.

There was that one day last week where the weather was beautiful and there were hidden tones of spring everywhere. There was the warmth of sunlight on my back (no, seriously), windows were down on every car I met on the highway and spring sports practices were set to begin.

And then as I prepared to cover the first week of spring high school sports, a handful of area baseball, softball and other first games were canceled to confirm that spring sports are officially back.

Spring sports — crazy weather, rescheduled events and all — are in full swing, pun intended. 

Soon there will be athletes with peculiar tan lines from their sunglasses and littered in either dust from the infield or grass stains from diving in the outfield. Others will be spraying tee shots hopefully down the middle of the fairway while their classmates are leaping over hurdles and cruising down the tracks across the Coulee Conference.

And while we may miss out on some events thanks to the always unpredictable Mother Nature and good old Spring in Wisconsin, let’s be sure to appreciate just how far we’ve come.

Over the last two years schools balanced spring sports with alternate fall competitions due to cancellations related to COVID-19, and student athletes were doing what they could to get back lost time.

Some places had restrictions on fan attendance, and some family and friends feared risking a positive COVID test to go see their loved ones play high school sports. Schools across the state grappled with mask requirements and sometimes were forced to cancel instead of reschedule events.

A glimmer of what we used to take for granted lies ahead in the coming weeks, such as a warm spring day with a full sports schedule or the approach of summer as athletes squeeze out one last memory or game to end their high school careers.

Let’s not forget how far we’ve come and be sure to appreciate the quickest and most unpredictable sports season of all. 

After all, spring sports are officially back.