Fools In The Rain?

The torrential rains killed our practices this week. Part of me understands but the part of me who never missed practice in any sport until I was over 40 found it revolting.

Our numbers are struggling. We do have a grass field but we would have made a mess of it playing in the rain. Dirt would have been shifted and ugly when the Brookdale field dries.

The solution is getting the team on an all-weather turf surface field such as Raimondi but we are still baffled as to who gets those winter practice slots before we get it.

I had wanted kids to show up and run on pavement in the rain. I want to send a message to them that some days suck, in life and in work, and you just need to show up and do your best. I have credentials for such suck it up measures. First, it was 5 years of Pop Warner football, never canceled for any rain, heat, etc. August meant football.

In high school it was four years of wrestling. Not outdoors but all the running, cutting weight, the tortorous practices and while studying in school. My crowning achievement in high school wrestling was going from mediocre to above average, that and the time I lost 9 pounds in less than two days before a match.

Coaching is a balancing act. But Coach Burke and I wonder if we are creating a bunch of softies by not having them run in the rain. Still, do we want to burn someone out by being ogres?

In all my nearly 20 years playing men's club rugby I never had a practice canceled. I remember playing in a game with our flanker on a cold day who had to be pulled because he had such low body-fat that he was shivering.

Sports do also build character and not just reveal it. Next time, we get wet and we run as a team.