How you can help me weather the spring

Whether we like to admit it or not, this time of year the weather affects all of us.

If you are like me, you might be battling a sinus condition that comes from the first dustings of pollen. Or maybe you are fighting off a cold because you’ve already attended a few too many baseball or softball games when the temperatures dropped into the low 40s with a wind chill that shivered your timbers.

Come to think of it, maybe I have a cold and it’s not the pollen…yet.

The fact is spring sports are at the mercy of the weather more than sports played at any other time of year.

Athletes in baseball, softball, tennis, and, to a certain degree, track and field, compete best in dry and somewhat warmer conditions. But this time of year those conditions aren’t always guaranteed.

And this year those conditions seem to be a little bit late arriving.

Last week there was a story in our sister paper, the Northwest Florida Daily News that stated 2010 was the first time in 15 years that we did not have one day when the temperatures reached 70 degrees. Furthermore, someone was telling me that they heard that we have had more sub-40 nights this winter than we have in the last 20 plus years.

So much for global warming. But I really will leave that for the scientists to debate.

There can be no debating that the weather does affect the schedules of local high school and middle school teams that compete this time of year.

Last Tuesday is a perfect example of how cold and wet conditions changed everything on the sports calendar.

Two baseball games and two softball games were postponed due to the weather, and I know there will be numerous other scheduled changes because of rain before the end of the spring.

There are currently five different high school sports in season in which local teams participate.

Baker, Crestview and Laurel Hill all have both baseball and softball teams.

Baker and Crestview have field and track teams and boys weight lifting squads. And Crestview has a tennis team.

Fortunately, from a scheduling standpoint, both boys and girls track and tennis teams compete in most of the same meets.

Of the sports listed above, weight lifting is the only one that doesn’t have to contend with the weather.

And I didn’t even mention the middle school sports that start next week, almost doubling the number of events scheduled for any given week.

With all that in mind, I need some help.

It’s almost impossible for me to try and contact the coach of every team on a rainy day when games might be postponed. Or, if they aren’t district games, cancelled all together.

Often a game that is postponed is one that I planned on covering. And then there are times that a game I might not have originally planned to cover is rescheduled to a date where I’m able to attend the game.

My request is simple. If your game is postponed, cancelled and/or rescheduled, drop me an e-mail at the e-mail address listed above and let me know.

Some coaches, especially Baker softball coach John Carlisle, already do that and it helps greatly.

You can even call the News Bulletin office at 682-6524 and ask for me. If I’m not in, leave a message about the schedule change and I’ll be sure to update the information.

Yes, everyone talks about the weather, but in this case there is something you can do about it to help keep everyone in the community informed about what’s going on.

Thanks for your help.