Sooner than later, they will all start

Yes, there will be high school spring sports this year.

Not anytime soon, but they’re coming.

Eventually.

AT SOME point, all that snow will melt off and teams will take full advantage of the sunshine — whenever that decides to return — and things will get on like normal.

But you can’t blame some coaches for feeling that they’d get back outside a little sooner.

“Last Saturday, our field was clear and I thought we’d be on the field by Monday,” Post Falls baseball coach Mick Zeller said. “Then we got hit with snow again and we’ve been inside.”

The story is pretty much the same all around North Idaho, with some teams canceling games and others getting a little creative on trying to fit games in.

“We’re still under snow at our field,” second-year Coeur d’Alene baseball coach Nick Mahin said. “We probably won’t be on our field until after spring break. As a newer coach to the area, we’re lucky that we’ve got the fieldhouse to do some work in. And that’s the hardest part for all programs is that they’re going to show better indoors. It’s really tough to see what you’ve got.”

And it’s also tough on the area track coaches to see who’s going to shine once the sun does.

“We had half of the track open, but got the latest snow and now we’re back indoors,” Post Falls coach Wade Quesnell said. “It’s so cold by the time we get outside for practice, but it’s been pretty difficult, so we’ve been in the gym trying to get some conditioning work done.”

For St. Maries, the mountains and trees haven’t quite helped things either.

“I went down a week ago and shoveled off a lane so it would help melt, and that’s the only thing that’s uncovered right now,” third-year St. Maries track coach Tony Kraack said. “We’re able to get on the track, but we’ve got to get through a foot of snow in our parking lot to get onto it. But it’s a great quad workout and feels like running in sand.”

IN SOME cases, the weather has been a blessing in disguise, believe it or not.

Post Falls High has been able to utilize an indoor facility at Randy Henry’s Dynamic Golf, where golf coach Maria Kostina works.

“We’ve been able to practice indoors and spend more time with our varsity kids working on things,” Kostina said. “Usually, we’ve got more kids, but because of the limitations on how many kids we can bring, we’re able to spend more time with the top five on both the boys and girls team.”

It never fails in this part of the state, with weather often times putting teams behind the 8-ball when it comes to valuable experience on the field instead of in a gymnasium.

But will it matter in the long run?

Teams that are talented, with a little speed mixed in, can go a long way.

Once everything melts, you’ll get a chance to see it in person.

Eventually.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.