by Dakota Antelman, Alyson Haley, Siobhan Richards
A full month removed from the barrage of blizzards that dumped over 100 inches of snow on Hudson,spring sports teams are still feeling the effects of the debilitating winter.
Confined to rigid gym schedules, teams have been watching the snow-covered fields and wondering how much longer they will have to wait before they can get outside and play the sport they signed up for. Abbreviated and unusual practices are taking a toll on athletes and, as April begins, HHS Athletic Director Jessica Winders has already been forced to greatly modify the spring sports schedule.
An MIAA memo sent out on March 20 effectively extended the season by prolonging cutoff dates for the end of all regular season games a certain number of days for each sport.
Winders greeted the memo with open arms, citing the current conditions as ‘unsafe’.
“The snowbanks make visibility for cars less coming in and out of the parking lot,” Winders explained. “They also haven’t cleared the parking lot, Riverside parking lot, they being the town, so we’re kind of waiting for them to make a move on that. Once they do that, we’ll be able to get outside.”
Winders admits that there is nothing ideal about practicing indoors. But at the same time, she remains adamant that the snowy winter was one that affected most every school in Massachusetts.
“You can’t do anything about the weather; you can’t do anything about the fields, or how quickly they dry,”she said. “It’s a long process. Once the snow is gone, they [fields] have to dry, they have to be lined. It’s a long process that we cannot start until the snow is gone.”
Furthermore, she is confident in the coaching staff running HHS spring sports teams and trusts that once they can get outside, teams will be able to get caught up on their season schedules.
“I think they are used to this,” she insisted. “There used to being inside, and I don’t really think any school in the area has a leg up on us. We have a nice sized gym, we’re lucky to have an indoor track and lucky to have coaches that are willing to work with each other.”
In Hudson this year, the ability to adapt and use resources as they become available has been crucial for the sports staff.
