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High Schools: Rain, Rain Go Away
By KEVIN L. HALL, The Bulletin
April showers bring May flowers, but they also cause headaches for area baseball and softball coaches and athletic directors.
Since games began counting March 20 for the spring high school sports season, there have been 14 days of recorded rainfall, with even a brief hail squall thrown in for good measure.
Yesterday was no exception, as daylong rains wiped out another full slate of games across all leagues. The situation would have been exacerbated had schools not already played makeup games on Monday, which was a scheduled day off for schools in the Catholic Academies and Catholic League.
The soggy weather has made Swiss cheese out of teams’ schedules, leaving athletic directors scrambling to try and catch up with lost games.
“Things are already pretty tight,” said Steve Langley, athletic director at Cardinal O’Hara, who is also the school’s softball coach this year. “It turns into a chess match.”
At one point, O’Hara had fallen behind by four games, but with Monday’s win over Hallahan, only a league game with Archbishop Prendergast and a nonleague matchup with Kennedy-Kenrick remain unfulfilled.
The situation is made even bleaker by a perceived short schedule installed by the PIAA. Schools are expected to fit in between 18 to 20 regular-season games between March 20 and May 8 in the PCL, and just under two months in the Central League. That’s roughly an average of 2.7 games per week, with most teams fitting in two games one week and three the next. But with the rash of washouts, some schools are facing weeks where they’ll play up to four games, including Saturdays.
“We’re playing a few more Saturday games than normal,” Langley said. “Generally, we try to stay away from games on weekends.”
In the past, it might not have been a problem for PCL schools, which could have made up those games late into the schedule. But since becoming members of the PIAA, it’s a whole new ballgame.
“The biggest problem is two schools getting together and you’re still adhering the best you can to the schedule,” said George Todt, the longtime athletic director at Archbishop Ryan. “(In the past), if we had to extend something, we had the availability to extend it because we weren’t tied to (the PIAA). Now, you’re not allowed to schedule any games after the last date.”
Postponements, cancellations and rescheduling also put limits on other resources, such as the availability of game transportation and officials.
“That’s where it really gets complicated because they’re all very limited,” Todt said. “We just called our bus company and there are no buses available on two dates next week. And if there’s more rain, it snowballs for you.”
Ryan softball coach Andy Hafele actually remembers snow forcing game cancellations in the past. His Ragdolls have made up two of the four games that had been washed out by the rain. He’s still hoping to get in the two nonleague contests with Neshaminy and Nazareth Academy to keep his team, which is among the league leaders in the PCL North Division, playing well.
“The weather’s been bad, but there’s such a time crunch to get things done,” he said. “But we need to get the kids to play to keep us in the swing of things.”
It’s that lack of playing time that concerns most coaches, who have to watch the dearth of games hamper their team’s progress. Players don’t get in the needed work or become bored with constant practice, causing them to fall out of rhythm.
Germantown Academy baseball coach John Duffy couldn’t even remember the number of games the Patriots have in limbo, until he looked at the team’s schedule for himself.
“Let’s see — one, two, three … four, five — five out of our 11 games that have been scheduled had had rain on that day,” Duffy said. “That’s tough.”
Yesterday’s scheduled game with Inter-Ac rival Malvern Prep will be made up, most likely on May 15. But that doesn’t help Duffy’s team right now.
“We get in a good practice to get ready to play and the kids are up for it, and now, we’re not doing anything,” Duffy said.
The coach also hoped to make up games with St. Joseph’s Prep, Penn Charter and Pennsbury, while a scheduled nonleague contest with O’Hara is probably cancelled.
That ultimately hurts the kids.
“Some of these nonleague games are an opportunity for me to see some of my other players, and now, the opportunity for those guys gets limited,” Duffy said.
His pitching rotation also takes a hit, with his third and fourth starters unable to get in their regular work.
“They don’t get used because the No. 1 and 2 guys are ready to go again,” Duffy said. “It’s going to back up toward the end of the season where you’re going to have four games in a week and we’re going to be pitching-thin.”
If there’s a positive to any of it, it’s that the weather affects everybody.
“Another rainout and we’re going to really be hurting to try and play four games in a week,” Todt said. “It is getting tough, but that’s life in the PIAA.”
Or at least in rain-soaked Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us
Since games began counting March 20 for the spring high school sports season, there have been 14 days of recorded rainfall, with even a brief hail squall thrown in for good measure.
Yesterday was no exception, as daylong rains wiped out another full slate of games across all leagues. The situation would have been exacerbated had schools not already played makeup games on Monday, which was a scheduled day off for schools in the Catholic Academies and Catholic League.
The soggy weather has made Swiss cheese out of teams’ schedules, leaving athletic directors scrambling to try and catch up with lost games.
“Things are already pretty tight,” said Steve Langley, athletic director at Cardinal O’Hara, who is also the school’s softball coach this year. “It turns into a chess match.”
At one point, O’Hara had fallen behind by four games, but with Monday’s win over Hallahan, only a league game with Archbishop Prendergast and a nonleague matchup with Kennedy-Kenrick remain unfulfilled.
The situation is made even bleaker by a perceived short schedule installed by the PIAA. Schools are expected to fit in between 18 to 20 regular-season games between March 20 and May 8 in the PCL, and just under two months in the Central League. That’s roughly an average of 2.7 games per week, with most teams fitting in two games one week and three the next. But with the rash of washouts, some schools are facing weeks where they’ll play up to four games, including Saturdays.
“We’re playing a few more Saturday games than normal,” Langley said. “Generally, we try to stay away from games on weekends.”
In the past, it might not have been a problem for PCL schools, which could have made up those games late into the schedule. But since becoming members of the PIAA, it’s a whole new ballgame.
“The biggest problem is two schools getting together and you’re still adhering the best you can to the schedule,” said George Todt, the longtime athletic director at Archbishop Ryan. “(In the past), if we had to extend something, we had the availability to extend it because we weren’t tied to (the PIAA). Now, you’re not allowed to schedule any games after the last date.”
Postponements, cancellations and rescheduling also put limits on other resources, such as the availability of game transportation and officials.
“That’s where it really gets complicated because they’re all very limited,” Todt said. “We just called our bus company and there are no buses available on two dates next week. And if there’s more rain, it snowballs for you.”
Ryan softball coach Andy Hafele actually remembers snow forcing game cancellations in the past. His Ragdolls have made up two of the four games that had been washed out by the rain. He’s still hoping to get in the two nonleague contests with Neshaminy and Nazareth Academy to keep his team, which is among the league leaders in the PCL North Division, playing well.
“The weather’s been bad, but there’s such a time crunch to get things done,” he said. “But we need to get the kids to play to keep us in the swing of things.”
It’s that lack of playing time that concerns most coaches, who have to watch the dearth of games hamper their team’s progress. Players don’t get in the needed work or become bored with constant practice, causing them to fall out of rhythm.
Germantown Academy baseball coach John Duffy couldn’t even remember the number of games the Patriots have in limbo, until he looked at the team’s schedule for himself.
“Let’s see — one, two, three … four, five — five out of our 11 games that have been scheduled had had rain on that day,” Duffy said. “That’s tough.”
Yesterday’s scheduled game with Inter-Ac rival Malvern Prep will be made up, most likely on May 15. But that doesn’t help Duffy’s team right now.
“We get in a good practice to get ready to play and the kids are up for it, and now, we’re not doing anything,” Duffy said.
The coach also hoped to make up games with St. Joseph’s Prep, Penn Charter and Pennsbury, while a scheduled nonleague contest with O’Hara is probably cancelled.
That ultimately hurts the kids.
“Some of these nonleague games are an opportunity for me to see some of my other players, and now, the opportunity for those guys gets limited,” Duffy said.
His pitching rotation also takes a hit, with his third and fourth starters unable to get in their regular work.
“They don’t get used because the No. 1 and 2 guys are ready to go again,” Duffy said. “It’s going to back up toward the end of the season where you’re going to have four games in a week and we’re going to be pitching-thin.”
If there’s a positive to any of it, it’s that the weather affects everybody.
“Another rainout and we’re going to really be hurting to try and play four games in a week,” Todt said. “It is getting tough, but that’s life in the PIAA.”
Or at least in rain-soaked Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Kevin L. Hall can be reached at khall@thebulletin.us
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