Weather always affects a few of the first games for the Spring season. 

With all the rain, the school had to reschedule four Baseball games, one soccer game, and two tennis matches this season due to the weather conditions.

“The toughest part of rescheduling games is usually finding dates that both schools are open and then finding umpires for the games,” Head Baseball Coach Todd Bisell said.

Baseball games were rescheduled because they play on real turf while soccer games play on artificial turf. The artificial turf makes it easier for soccer players to play in the rainy weather. 

“The weather has had a limited effect on our sport, we always practice indoors a few times in March every season,” Head Girls Soccer Coach Michael Brown said. “The biggest effect was our home game vs Truman. There was a strong wind going from goal to goal and the rain made it a very difficult night to play in.” 

In the month of March, Independence had a total of 4.87 inches of rain. Players have expressed that the rainy weather during a game doesn’t just affect the play but also the mood of the game and the night. 

“The weather sometimes makes the mood of the game super sluggish and sometimes it is hard to control the ball when it’s super rainy and the turf field gets waterlogged,” Junior Soccer Player Bailey Hillbrand said. 

The soccer field is artificial turf and isn’t affected as much as the Baseball field, it makes it a bit easier for soccer players to play their games. Rain affects the baseball games a bit more because of how the dirt infield is affected. The dirt on the infield has to be turned over by maintenance equipment in order for it to dry. Without any sun it’s harder for the infield to dry in time for games.

“We have gotten off to a rough start but have played some pretty good teams and will hopefully turn things around in the next few weeks.” Coach Bissell said. 

Dates for games and sports can be found on the Fort Osage School Website under schools, and look for Athletics and Activities.