WOODBURY — When fall athletes step out onto the field for practices or games, the conditions are not always what they are expecting. With that, athletes need to adapt to the field conditions. With hurricane season being in the months of August-October, and the peak being in mid-September, and other storms that are unpredictable, it’s rare for fall athletes to encounter ideal weather conditions.
For most sports, the magic number of required practices before the first game is 10. Despite the wet weather, fall sports trudged through so they could attain this required practice count.
“When the fields are wet, like they were when we played Terryville, it can be difficult to control the ball,” said Skylar Chung, a key defender on this year’s girls soccer team. “The field can become really muddy, which causes people to get stuck in their tracks or trip, which is frustrating.”
Even if there is rain and inclement weather, the sports and athletes still play on, but with that, they need to adapt to the new conditions.
Between grass and turf, there are major differences between the weather and how the surface will affect the game after.
“Playing on the turf or in the rain, you have to be mentally prepared to play a faster style and a cleaner style,” said Toby Denman, NHS’ boys soccer coach. “You have to make sure all of your touches are on point and passes are where you want them.”
With playing on different surfaces, there are also different obstacles that each player needs to face.
“It overall just makes things more difficult,” said Chung. “Having to play on a field with bad conditions is obviously disappointing, but shouldn’t be used as an excuse.”
Being prepared before a game in bad weather conditions is important. But with that, there are the unexpected things. There are times where players face obstacles that are a surprise and immediately have to think of something to play around that.
“Understanding that every touch is important,” said Denman. “That’s why when we do things like warmups, we put an emphasis on challenging yourself to do things that might be outside your comfort level.”
