Outside yet?

[shockcoach]

SE Washington. MS ball has had 12 practices, 11 outside and 1 in. TB team has had two outside and both days were in the 60's. Felt great!

Damn dry-siders!

 

[KCM]

Aaaahhhhh......South Carolina weather is just about perfect right now..I know this is a yankee thread but just figured I'd rub it in a little. Been wearing shorts since January, got the tan lines going, grass already has been cut once on the field and just perfect blue skies most of this week.

Don't hate.

 

[2 DD Coach]

The great thing about topics like this is it makes you appreciate what you have! Year round softball and in six years we have never had an indoor practice unless by choice. How do you guys keep from going stir crazy waiting for the ground to thaw??!!

 

[BretMan]

How do you guys keep from going stir crazy waiting for the ground to thaw??!!

We have several facilities here with indoor winter leagues. These run from November (right after the last fall ball games and tournaments) through February (about a month before the high school season starts). That keeps me busy during the "off season".

Basically, they're played on artificial turf in an area enclosed by netting. One place I umpire games has a 175 X 175 playing area, some of the others lay out fields on multi-purpose fields that resemble a hockey rink, complete with plexiglass walls.

They play every Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night and have to turn away teams because they're booked solid.

You can get some weird bounces off the walls or ceiling and there some unusual ground rules to cover that. But for the most part the games play like outdoor ball, placing the same emphasis on pitching, defense and hitting to win games.

They're pretty competetive games, with divisions composed of both high school and travel teams. You tend to see some of the better pitchers and position players in the area, since those are the kids dedicated enough to be playing softball in the dead of winter!

 

[CPSBDad]

DD and I went to Tucson in December for Mike Candrea's Holiday Camp. Upon leaving for our freezing town, with inversion layer for the next two months, DD said she is moving to Tucson when she gets older. I'm right behind her.

shockcoach, first MS game cancelled due to rain. Second MS game only one inning due to rain. Umpire Blue tournament this past weekend, Sunday play cancelled due to rain.

The great thing about topics like this is it makes you appreciate what you have! Year round softball and in six years we have never had an indoor practice unless by choice. How do you guys keep from going stir crazy waiting for the ground to thaw??!!

 

[MsDinosaur]

It was 82 on Sat and 85 on Sun for our tournament this weekend in the KC area. I got sunburned (no surprise), but even DD got a little pink. If this keeps up, it's going to be a long, hot summer here.

 

[mad hornet]

We have had an extremely mild winter / spring her in Ohio. Have been practicing outside since second weekend in March and played a tournament March 24-25 outdoors which is almost unheard of in these parts. After all the rain we had and the harsh winter last year, I'm going with it. Mother Nature owes us a break.