Rainy Spring Disrupts Raiders Sports Schedule

l track coach Ray Peaco has seen some rainy springs, but like a dripping faucet, this one never seems to stop.

“It is springtime in Western Pennsylvania, but I would have to sum it up as almost comical,” Peaco said.

Canceled, changed, forfeited, postponed. The weatherman has not been kind to Seneca Valley’s spring sports schedule.

According to The Weather Channel, rain has been measured on 32 days in the Cranberry and Pittsburgh areas since spring sports began in mid-March.

The Raiders might have a chance to catch up under sunny skies early this week, but more thunderstorms are predicted late in the week.

Peaco recently played host to a middle school relay meet, and it rained from start to finish -- six consecutive hours.

“I ran the high jump and recorded the information with an umbrella under my chin,” he said. “The rain and cold didn’t affect my body as much as the stiffness in my neck from trying to hold the umbrella, clipboard and trying to write all at the same time.”

Besides the rain, Seneca Valley teams have been forced to cope with another thing beyond their control – playoff deadlines that the WPIAL and the PIAA impose.

In an effort to keep pace and finish their seasons, six Seneca Valley spring sport varsity teams played Tuesday and 15 Raiders teams were in competition from the middle school level up. Thursday’s scheduled also is jammed with key section games.

“This has been one of the worst springs with regards to the weather in a long time,” Raiders softball coach George Trew said.

Seneca Valley’s softball team had only one scrimmage and one non-section game before it had to open section competition.

“The weather has had a significant impact on us this spring,” Trew said. “It has caused us to move games around and in many cases play on back-to-back days. We also had many practices inside the gym.”

Lacrosse is an all-weather outdoor sport often played on artificial turf, but practices can be a challenge in the rain.

“We practice on a grass field, so the constant rain has caused our field to flood,” Raiders girls lacrosse coach Dina Hughes said. “I am always worried about them getting injured from falling, rolling ankles or from collisions.”

Indoor practice in the gym is an option but usually not the best.

“Even when we are given a gym to practice in, we are limited on space, and it is difficult to practice many field situations so we just work on basics and small plays,” Hughes said. “I would call it [spring weather] frustrating.”

Because he coaches the largest team, Peaco has a king-size logistical headache when it rains.

“What do you do with 200 student athletes when it is raining too hard or storming?” Peaco said. “The well-being and safety of each athlete is the most important thing, but you want to condition the athletes so they are prepared for the big competitions in May. Tough call, and you really have to be creative.”

Otherwise, track practice goes on despite poor weather. Usually the runners and sprinters can cope with wet weather better than pole vaulters and high jumpers who need solid traction on their takeoffs, Peaco said.

“We use the weight rooms and hallways if the weather is really bad,” he said. “We never cancel practices, and we make sure the kids know that we are going to compete in some bad weather and they better be ready for it.”

High school spring sports across the state end June 17 with the PIAA softball and baseball championships at Penn State. The state softball title game will be played at Penn State’s new $12 million Nittany Lions Softball Park.

The state track and field championships for Class AA and AAA will be May 27-28 at Shippensburg University, the same date as the state tennis championships at Hershey Racquet Club, Hershey.

“The inclement and uncooperative spring weather has resulted in a very frustrating spring interscholastic athletic season,” WPIAL Executive Director Tim O’Malley noted recently in a letter to area athletic directors.

O’Malley advised schools not to use forfeits as a “convenient way” to complete section games.

“It is our hope that the weather will eventually cooperate,” he said in the letter.