SSYB News Blog

Rain is a fact of life.  Rain not draining off the fields in time for practice is a fact of life.  Don't hold it against SSYB when it rains.  We can't do anything to stop it. 

We CAN do some things to mitigate the damage to the fields when it rains, to keep or make them playable.  How and when we do that is determined by several factors:

• What is the playing situation?  

Is this the early season practice time, or is it the final game in a regional tournament that many people have traveled great distances to attend and the winner has to travel even farther in just 5 days for the world series?  Wherever we are on that continuum is what decides the urgency of getting the fields ready to play.  In March, practice times are hard to come by, because, hey, sometimes it snows 8 inches on the first day of Spring.  It kind of evens out in April, and you will get a chance to practice.  I guarantee you, no coach thinks his team is prepared well enough for the first game!  That rained out practice or two or three is not going to make a difference.  How you handle the frustration related to it will.  Work with what you have.  That's all any of us can do anyway.  Don't take it out on anybody, especially your volunteer board members. 

• How much labor do we have?

If the above situation is on the far end of the spectrum, like the last day of the Regional Tournament last year, and it is critical that we get the game in as soon as possible, it will take a small army to get one field ready for such an important game.  Luckily, there was a small army of devoted, but weary, volunteers to get Snodgrass Field ready for the championship game.  (We also had quite a bit of air support.)  Coaches in each league should be ready to get to the ballpark early in those evenings where the fields could be made playable with a little sand and raking.  Even non-coaches are invited.  If you have the late game that night, don't let the early game coaches do all the work for you.  Come early and help out. 

• Is it going to rain some more?

Only God knows for sure.  But we have radar!  A morning shower doesn't necessarily rain out games.  In the hot part of the year, storms can build up and die out right before they get to the JBBC.  We can't know.  But we have to try to keep the season going, no matter what.  At game time, whatever is happening then will decide what we do.  We will "proceed as the way opens."

• How much will it cost?

A load of sand is expensive.  Sometimes we use absorbent materials, like oil dry.  That's expensive, too.  We have to keep a lid on the costs of running the league, to keep it inexpensive enough that everyone can play.  It's a balance beam that we are constantly walking. 

What to do when it rains:

Check the website!  The tradition has been to update at 3:00 p.m. every day.  It may still rain us out between 3 p.m. and game time.  We won't update the website in that case, because we will be at the ballpark getting it ready.  If you're off work or home from school then and don't have anything to do, come on down and give us a hand.  We need you. 

We try to use mass communication as much as possible.  There's a group on Facebook, and there's this website.  We will be updating Facebook during the season, especially during rain outs.  If you are on the Facebook group, you can post to the wall there, too, and give updates on your league or your team.  Try to keep it specific to the topic, please.  (You can get to our group page from the front page of ssyb.com.) 

You can call your coach, too.  He or she may have just checked the website, though.  So, you might as well save a phone call and check it yourself.  If you don't have the internet handy, make a pact with someone who does to check the website for you and give you a call. 

Today is work day!  It's supposed to rain this afternoon, so I hope everyone comes out to the ballpark to do their share, and we can get it all done before the rain comes. 

See you at the ballpark!