Put away the mittens, grab the sun block

Break out the sunscreen and get your shorts ready.

It’s time to head back outside!

Spring practice already is already nine days old. March 1 marked the start of practice for area baseball, girls soccer, boys golf, boys volleyball and the track and field teams.

March 1 also marked the start of a new batch of challenges for area coaches and athletic directors.

Hillsboro athletic director and former baseball coach Ed Moreno said the spring brings a unique set tasks.

“It’s like the fall, only you’re battling different elements,” he said. “In the fall it’s wet weather and the heat. In the spring it’s wet weather and the cold.”

The spring season’s first games are scheduled for March 19.

If recent history is any indication, we can expect to get a healthy amount of precipitation this spring. For a lot of schools that can wreak havoc with schedules, facilities and practices.

“It becomes tricky trying to find common (makeup) dates for all your opponents, be it varsity, junior varsity or freshmen,” Moreno said.

Moreno said you can’t plan for rainouts. You make your schedule and hope the weather gods shine on you more often than not. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, you have to get a little creative to maximize your good days.

Last season under Moreno’s guidance the Hillsboro baseball team played a 4 p.m. game at Grandview and then hightailed it back to school for a 6:30 tilt with Jackson under the lights.

“You do what you can do,” Moreno said.

If the rain does come in buckets and show no sign of letting up, Moreno said practices get moved indoors and there is usually enough space for every one. The baseball team takes a gym, the track team gets a gym and the hallways. The golf team will head over to the middle school.”It’s actually a lot harder scheduling gym time in the winter,” he said.

When the weather is crummy but not dangerous, the baseball team can leave its beautiful field to drain and get its work in on the artificial turf football field.

The baseball diamond is the one field that does require some attention come spring. There is a schedule in place to seed and fertilize it to make sure it’s at its best once the games are ready to be played.

“Our maintenance department is top notch,” Moreno said. “They’re there to help us any time we need it.”

Moreno said a huge part of getting that field ready is replacing the pitching mound. The mound is removed before fall practices so the softball team can use the field. Once the softball season is complete, the mound is returned.

“We put it back on for the winter,” he said.

Winter is almost over. It’s almost time to play ball.