By Bulldog Sports
FARMINGTON — Monday afternoon, Mt. Blue assistant athletic director Rob Olsen could be found stringing yellow tape across the school’s back parking lot in preparation for a lacrosse practice. Extreme weather conditions in western Maine has left schools like Mt. Blue stranded without places to practice or play preseason games.
With the high school regular season set to begin Thursday, Mt. Blue of Farmington, Mt. Abram of Salem and Spruce Mountain of Jay, spring athletic teams are finding themselves entering the season carrying a serious disadvantage.
“Everything we’ve had scheduled for preseason has been cancelled because of all the snow,” Olsen said. “Baseball has found a couple of openings with other teams but that’s about it.”
Although Mt. Blue doesn’t open its Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference schedule until April 23, Spruce Mountain was scheduled to play Thursday in the Mountain Valley Conference but today moved those games.
Phoenix softball coach Gavin Kane is hopeful the teams can get to Wiscasset on Wednesday and Leavitt on Saturday for preseason match-ups, before needing to play a game for keeps.
“I was told this morning, we won’t be on the field Thursday versus Dirigo,” Kane said. “We were looking at playing on the 21st but our athletic director told me that is not a go.”
Anyone who has traveled to southern, eastern, northern or central Maine knows fields are clear and teams are getting ready for the season.
Cony of Augusta, Mt. Blue’s opening game in baseball and softball, has been outdoors for a couple of weeks. Mt. Blue’s tennis teams are sharing court times at Kineowatha Park while track and field athletes continue to run around the school driveways to the stop sign and back on the Seamon Road.
With more snow in the forecast for Tuesday, teams may be set back another couple of days until snow begins to melt again.
University of Maine at Farmington teams have yet to play a home game, utilizing fields throughout New England along with some creative scheduling to get games in. For a home contest, the Beavers have played at Kents Hill, Thomas College and Husson University, all schools with all-weather fields.
