Much of the winter sports season was spent juggling schedules and trying to fit in a bunch of games on successive nights, while still keeping the student athletes fresh and making sure that their academic endeavors weren't paying a price. Well, starting March 3, another juggling act opened for area athletic directors, who were faced with the task of finding ways for outdoor spring sports teams to practice while fields remained covered with snow and ice.

Northwestern's Jason Zimmerman teamed up with his coaches to come up with some innovative ways to get teams ready for the season even though their normal practice areas weren't ready to host activity. After all, baseball, softball and track and field aren't exactly easy to play in snow, ice and mud.

"Basically, we've moved all practices indoors and have been utilizing our parking lots," explained Zimmerman. "Gyms, hallways, and macadam areas on our campuses have also been utilized.

"Our coaches have done a great job improvising and coming up with some unique practice plans. Our custodians have also been very understanding as they work around the 300 or so kids forced indoors to practice."

Zimmerman has been around local sports for a pretty long time and called upon advice that he got from some of his mentors Al Wilson, Glenn Rissmiller, Dwight Repsher and Don Harakal to make it through the winter and spring seasons, which have been ravaged by the harsh weather.

"They gave me some good advice, which I use to this day," he said. "You need to reschedule contests the next date both schools have nothing scheduled; you can't worry about strategy. You're always bound to lose a game per week [to weather], so knowing that, you can schedule multiple games in a row almost guaranteeing one of them will need to be postponed."

Zimmerman pointed out that it's easier to have the bad weather at the beginning of a sports season, because it allows for more time to reschedule games.

With the spring sports season set to get underway on Friday, Zimmerman and his staff are continuing to do everything possible to avoid having games postponed because of poor playing conditions, but they find themselves needing a little help from Mother Nature.

"All of our outdoor competition surfaces are pretty nasty," admitted Zimmerman. "We need a good string of sun and warmth to melt the snow and then need another few days of the same with some wind added to dry everything out. Nights staying above freezing would also be to our advantage."

Zimmerman believes that if there is any way for practices and games to be held on the team's facilities, the staff at Northwestern will find a way to make sure it happens.

"Our grounds crew is top notch," he said. "Craig (Moyer), Rick (Boandl) and Gary (Spanitz) have been preparing areas as they become free of snow and have been doing little things to help promote melting and drying," said Zimmerman.

While Zimmerman says it hasn't been easy over the past few months, he's grateful to his staff and coaches, who have remained patient and have worked with him to find alternative ways and places for their teams to practice and prepare for the season. Zimmerman believes that the people who operate the Colonial League and District 11 have also been helpful in finding ways to work through the issue.

"Don't get me wrong, it's been tough, but they have made a tough situation more tolerable," said Zimmerman. "Thankfully, my coaches are very understanding and realize we can't control the weather. They have been pretty calm for the most part and patient."