Rain, rain go away

April showers may bring May flowers, but the recent foul weather hasn't been doing Mid-Valley area sports programs any favors.

With several dozen games canceled and numerous practice sessions lost due to inclement weather, many teams are behind the 8-ball as they try to make up league contests with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season.

"Everybody is swamped with make-up games right now so you just pray to the rain gods that it stops raining," said Lindhurst softball Bill Biggs, whose Blazers team had it's huge Golden Empire League game at Capital Christian washed out on Tuesday. "It's been frustrating. Me and the Capital Christian coach were talking about playing water polo or fishing or something instead."

Biggs is not alone as every other outdoor sports teams in the area have been affected by the recent rainfall.

"It's to be expected at the beginning of the year, but this season it seems a little prolonged," River Valley baseball coach Billy Rollins said. "The weather usually doesn't affect us this late in April."

While the rain has forced cut backs in practice time for every team, Rollins said that it's pitching and defense that suffers the most in baseball.

"You can always hit in the cage and do some soft-toss on the side, but if our field is wet, we have to practice on the blacktop," Rollins said. "It makes it tough on pitching too, because you have to schedule ahead. We play 15 games in five weeks, so it's tough."

The weather problems are not confined to just the diamonds either.

Only three schools — Wheatland, River Valley and Yuba City — have all-weather tracks, while every other track team has had to find other ways to prepare for meets while fighting through the mud.

"It's just been a nightmare, especially for a guy with a dirt track," Lindhurst track and field coach Rob Castleman said. "You need to have your horses run and the kids need to compete, but we've had to cancel a few practices and we've had three meets rained out already."

And with puddles filling the track and water soaking the infield, many teams have resorted to practicing indoors as well.

"The track gets muddy and kids ride their bikes in it, so it makes it dangerous for us to even practice on," Castleman said. "We're limited on facilities, too, so someone has the weight room one day and teams have the gym on others."

Biggs agreed that the situation is less than ideal.

"Lately, we've had to live in the gym. It's not that bad, but the girls want to play," he said.