The birds have flown back up north, the sun stays shining until 8:00 p.m., and the weather is right on that fine Michigan line of warm and cold again.  It is spring in Farmington Hills, and with this time of year comes a fresh wave of high school sports.  But some spring sports have already had to call off a huge chunk of games and practices this season.

The Mercy Varsity and JVA Soccer teams have had to call off two games each so far due to rainy weather and poor field conditions.  The first game against South Lyon East was cancelled, and the Ladywood game, originally scheduled for April 7, has been rescheduled for May 6. In place of these games, the team has practiced on the small patches of grass near the soccer fields that stayed dry.  The Mercy Varsity Soccer team was scheduled to play a tournament on the weekend of April 15 – 17, but this tournament was also cancelled.

The JVB Soccer team has only had a chance to play one game this 2011 season.  Two games were cancelled due to poor field conditions, and one game was lost in a schedule mix-up.  The freshmen and sophomore girls have had an entire week off of practice because of weather conditions and conflicting JV/Varsity home games.

“We’re bummed because we haven’t gotten to play hardly at all,” said freshman Gabby Garmo.  “Hopefully we’ll get more games in soon.”

The lacrosse program has not had much more luck.  The Varsity and JV Lacrosse teams have had to call off four games this season.  One was cancelled due to the cold, two were cancelled for the rain and poor field conditions, and the last game was called off due to a lack of available officials at Flint Powers Catholic High School.

“I was really disappointed. Even though it was a long drive, I was so excited to play that game,” said Junior Haleigh Guerrin. “I opened the email and I just laughed.  It was such a random reason to cancel a game!”

The Flint Powers game will be rescheduled for a time later in May.  The other three games, including the Ladywood game, were cancelled.

Even the Mercy Varsity Tennis girls have been affected by the weather.  Twice, the girls have had to move tennis tournaments indoors to avoid foul weather.

“I’d rather play outside, even though sometimes it’s harder with the wind and the sun,” said junior Laura Williams.  “It’s just a better game when you’re outdoors.”

Since the beginning of the season, chilly weather, rain, slushy fields, and miscommunications have made it difficult for spring sports to stick to their game and practice schedules.  Players, coaches, and fans alike have been disappointed time after time by cancelled games and practices.

“With the cold spring and the schools taking three different weeks as spring break, it has wrecked havoc with the spring sports. The fields usually are thawed out by the second week of March, but this year the fields were still frozen at that time. Now numerous schools have had to cancel games because of the field issues,” Mercy Varsity Soccer Coach Butch Babler commented.  “The end result will be many teams, including Mercy, playing three games a week near the end of the season.”