As this year’s record-breaking winter finally starts to melt away, Bromfield’s spring sports teams have been left with snow-covered fields and forced to adjust their practice routines accordingly.
Bromfield’s boys’ and girls’ track teams begin each practice with a stretching warm-up inside the school’s gymnasium. After a half-hour of warming up their muscles, members of both teams head outside and hit the roads. Senior runner Hunter Ashley remarked that running on the roads isn’t much different from running on the track, save that “the track is safer and less detrimental to your body than the hard pavement.” He also noted that “essentially, the only big difference is having to be wary of cars.” Ashley, expressing relief, said that the team finally used the McCurdy track Monday, April 6.
Court-shoveling days for tennis team
The boys’ and girls’ tennis teams face much harder practice coordination. Senior Yonah Joffe said that the teams occasionally go to an Acton indoor tennis facility. But when they have not been inside, the boys and girls have been alternating gym practices with court-shoveling days, according to senior Adam Lorenz-Kruk. He described the shoveling as “brutal” and exclaimed, “The recent sun and rain have been more effective than any of our shoveling efforts!” Finally, though, they had cleared three of their courts as of Monday.
The girls’ softball team started its season with informal captains’ practices at a batting cage in Boxborough. The team spent two weeks training in the Bromfield gym, going every Friday to the batting cage, before finally hitting the diamond Thursday, April 2. “Braving the mud and slush … [has] been a blast,” said senior Colby Newsham, “but we’re definitely ready for spring sports weather.”
Similarly, the baseball team has been working out in the Bromfield gym. Senior Michael Jarosz said that his team has been going to a Marlborough indoor sports complex on early release days. Given the team’s completely indoor practice schedule, players have been limited to working on defensive drills and fielding.
‘Zero sunlight’ on Depot Road fields
Bromfield boys’ lacrosse has also been limited to gym practices. Unfortunately, because they play on lower Depot Road fields, their field gets “about zero sunlight,” joked senior Nick Robinson. They practiced outside in Lancaster on Monday, but they will not be able to play on their home territory until all the snow has melted.
Though not specifically a Bromfield sport, Bromfield/AB Rowing is also feeling the ramifications from this winter. Over the winter, senior Annie Cooper reports that rowers have been working out at an Acton gym. The weather has forced them to extend their winter workouts at the gym into the beginning of their spring season. Bare Hill Pond is still unsuitable for rowing, so both the girls’ and boys’ teams have been driving to Bedford and rowing on the Concord River.
An ‘end-of-season team’
Girls’ lacrosse has been the most successful with getting field practice time. After two large-scale fundraisers, the girls raised enough money to pay for practice times at an Acton indoor facility and also outdoor turf time in Lancaster. Junior Maddie Ragno said that all the outdoor practice time has “played a huge role in our ability to get a leg up over our opponents.”
Their extra efforts have already paid off. The team, which finished second in the state last year, has already won its first two games of the season, against Oakmont and Wachusett. The scores were landslides in Bromfield’s favor, 16–3 and 13–4, respectively. Ragno also commented that their coach, Dave Planchet, said they looked like an “end-of-season team,” a sign of the team’s chemistry and skill.
Despite all the snow, everyone is still gearing up for the coming season. Many teams were scheduled to play their first games this week, but most have been postponed. As of Tuesday, April 7, the only games that hadn’t been postponed for the week were boys’ varsity lacrosse on Thursday and baseball and softball on Saturday.
