There is unexpected weather such as hail, rain, and snow. Weather can hurt outside sports, and it’s usually rain or snow, giving players a higher chance of slipping or losing footing when the ground is wet, which could cause more injuries. There are many ways to prepare for bad weather before and during the sport.

Junior Tiernan Kane Perkins (TK) is a varsity baseball player who has recently been experiencing bad weather during practice and games. Perkins takes precautions before practice and games, such as layering up or using product such as Rain Out. Rain Out is a special drying agent that can be used on muddy fields to dry out the ground from any rain.

“For layering up we always have to wear long sleeve Under Armour if it’s 70 degrees or colder. I also like to wear athletic leggings under my pants sometimes to keep warm,” Perkins said.

When the weather is cold, athletes want to stay warm. Layering up and stretching to get warm is important when the weather is cold outside. Athletes have a higher risk of tearing/pulling a muscle anyway. When the muscles lose heat they contract, and the joints get tighter more injuries can occur.

“Make sure that you’re getting or working a sweat because that makes sure that you know your muscles aren’t cold and that prevents injury prevents tearing pulling any muscle group. When it’s hot outside that keeps your muscles warm. Make sure that you’re moving with as much efficiency as possible when it’s cold,” senior track sprinter/pole vaulter Wint Lacdao said.

Wet weather can also cause slipping hazards which can tear muscles or break bones. Always making sure that the athlete has shoes that have traction to minamize slipping such has spikes for track or cleats for baseball is a necessity for outside sports.

“It’s going to be slick on the runway and that can cause a lot of injuries…if you slip that can cause injuries in a bunch of different ways, also adding shoes with great traction is a need,” Lacdao said.

With spring comes baseball and flowers, but it also brings the rain which makes a sport like baseball really hard to play. Since the baseball is small, it makes it hard to see in the air, but when it’s raining it can make it almost impossible to find and track the ball. This is a problem because players need to be able to see the ball at all times, so they don’t get hit and get injured.

“The rain water causes the footing in the field to be looser and more difficult to play on. It also causes throwing to be harder and can even impair your vision,” senior baseball catcher Iain Loverink said.

At the end of the day, cold weather isn’t ideal for spring sports. People play spring sports expecting the sun and the rich smell of the grass while they’re out there playing, but the rain can ruin that in a matter of minutes and could possibly ruin the game.