Sprints in the hallway, soccer practice in the gym, track-and-field practice in Armstrong - those are just a few of the adjustments Revelstoke Secondary School’s sports teams have made while waiting for the snow to melt this year.
“The first meet is in Kelowna on Tuesday and we haven’t even been on a track yet,” said track coach Andy Pfeiffer before the team’s trip to Vernon. “We might have to go to our qualifying meet [in May] without having trained on a track.”
The situation is so bad -- there’s still a foot of snow on top of the track in Centennial Park -- that Pfeiffer doesn’t even think the school will be able to host their own track meet on May 11.
“I might have to book the track in Kamloops so we can host our own meet,” he said.
For the senior girls soccer team, things are pretty much the same. An exhibition game they played against Pleasant Valley Secondary School in Armstrong last Monday was the first time they played on grass this year.
“We didn’t do as well on grass as we should have for the first game,” said Harley Reiner, despite the fact the team won 2-0.
“Not playing on grass definitely affects our fitness,” said Madison Barton, who scored one of Revelstoke’s two goals in their win over PVSS. Brittany Evans scored the other.
Waiting for the snow to melt is a fact-of-life for RSS spring sports teams but this year is worse than usual. Last year, the golf course was even open at this point.
Coaches are making do, holding practices inside the gym but it`s not the same as doing so on the proper surface.
“Nothing replaces running the curve on the 200 metre,” said Pfeiffer while his 50-plus-student team warmed up in the gym.
Still, he has high hopes for the track team this year. “I think there’s potential to medal at the provincials for some seniors athletes.”
Meanwhile, the senior girls soccer team is doing their best to adapt despite practicing in the gym, which is much smaller than a regulation soccer field. The biggest difference said coach Kendra von Bremen is on the girls’ first touch.
“The first touch in the gym versus the first touch on grass is hugely different,” she said. “The warm-ups before game are extremely important because they need to get their first touch as fast as they can.”
The team is looking at playing all its games on the road this year, possibly even the playoffs in the second week of May if the snow doesn’t melt soon.
And that means their parents can’t watch them play either.