April 14, 2004
They probably call it Spring because it's wet
By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist
With apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson, in spring throughout the Cape-Atlantic League, an athletics
director's fancy turns to The Weather Channel.
There are challenges all year 'round for the men and women who coordinate sports schedules for area high
schools. But nothing is as bad as spring.
In recent years, pleasant - almost summer-like - weather has stretched deeper and deeper into the fall
season. The winter can be bad if it snows often but, since all sports are indoors, everything is really pretty
stable.
But in the spring it can be tough. And few springs have started off much worse than this one.
The baseball team has had one game postponed twice. The boys tennis team has gone more than a week
without a practice session. Its had a negative impact on virtually every team.
The spring break also plays havoc. This week, most schools are closed and there are very few athletic
contests scheduled. Occasionally, that week-long break takes place in March, before the spring season
begins, and there isn't a break in the schedule.
Lousy weather hurts all sports, but none more than baseball. If a baseball team has three solid pitchers, it
should be in pretty good shape. But if games are postponed and the schedule backs up, that three-man
rotation could be strained with four games in five days.
An AD's calendar at this time of year is filled with erasures, crossed out games and scribbled notes. It's
no more fun for the assigners who make sure the officials or umpires are at the right place at the right time.
The weather has also postponed the start of the 49th annual baseball season sponsored by the Ocean
City Youth Athletic Association for at least one week.
High school sports can be complicated in these times, with a host of new rules to make the competitions
safer and liability-free. But never do they get more complicated and challenging than in the spring with
weather like we've experienced this month.
They probably call it spring because it's wet.
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The spring season has not held back a pair of OCHS graduates.
Jeff Michner, a junior golfer at Drexel University, helped the Dragons finish first in the Yale Invitational. They
beat Boston College by one stroke and Temple by two.
Michner shot a three-over par 73 in the final round and finished seventh overall with a 147. Joe April, a
sophomore out of St. Augustine Prep, led Drexel with a pair of 70s.
Princeton Junior Ryan Reich hit home runs in consecutive games against Brown and Yale and doubled
home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to beat Brown.
Reich, who was moved from third base to first base this year, is hitting .281 with a .439 slugging
percentage. He is among the team leaders in home runs and RBIs.
Read more of
Tom Williams' columns