School spring sports are underway; Mother Nature didn’t get the memo.

As of the middle of this week, plenty of snow and ice still caked the athletic playing fields, tennis courts, and golf courses in town, as well the Blue & Gold Stadium track, leaving Newtown High School’s athletics department having to be creative in approaches to tryouts and practices.

Spring tryouts were held this week, March 23–25, and had to be conducted, for the most part, indoors. Early preseason scrimmages that were set to begin on Thursday, March 26, have been canceled. It is anybody’s guess as to when the playing fields will be ready for game action, and the likelihood is that area athletic directors, coaches, and the student athletes will have to deal with postponing and rescheduling early April competitions to a more substantial degree than in the past when typical April rain forces the movement of some games.

“It was a very difficult winter with the amount of snow we’ve had,” Newtown High School Athletic Director Gregg Simon said on March 24, adding that Blue & Gold Stadium’s turf field and track were both still about 40 percent covered by snow, and that the natural grass back fields remained blanketed by Mother Nature’s white fluffy drop-off, and the tennis courts had layers of ice and snow.

While early spring wet snow that may disrupt a practice or tryout schedule isn’t all that out of the ordinary every March, what’s unusual is that the snow has stuck around since January, Simon notes.

“It’s been an odd one,” Carl Samuelson, assistant director of parks, said of the winter which has carried over into spring. Samuelson, whose department oversees and maintains all of the town’s fields, points out that nighttime drops in temperatures is contributing to the slow thawing process. “One of the big problems is it’s not like it’s going down to 32 at night — it’s going down to 15,” he said.

The school’s tennis, lacrosse, and baseball teams have been utilizing NYA Sports & Fitness Center, and the tennis players have also gone into Danbury Sport & Wellness, along with the Middlebury Racquet Club. Softball players have been swinging the bats and fielding grounders at the Danbury Police Athletic League facility. Golfers have used the Newtown Golf Lab, at NYA, to simulate swings on the course.

“It definitely puts a strain on the athletic department budget,” said Simon, adding that he’s limited the indoor rental facility use to the three-day tryout portion of the spring preparations. “Obviously we can’t afford to move indoors for the first couple of weeks of the season while we wait for the snow to melt.”

The athletic director noted that it was important to give athletes as fair of an opportunity to try out for teams as possible, and reserving time slots at area indoor venues was the best method possible under the circumstances.

Members of the outdoor track and field teams have prepared inside the school, as well as by using portions of the track and turf field that have more exposure to sun.

Simon said he was hopeful Thursday’s expected rain and rising temperatures would go a long way toward clearing off fields. Even once the snow melts, while artificial surface fields at NHS and Treadwell Park will be playable thanks to their drainage systems and the fact that there’s no dirt to deal with, the natural playing surfaces will need some time to dry out.

“We’re continuing to do the best we can to get these fields ready as soon as possible,” Simon said. “Everybody’s been very positive.”

Samuelson notes that workers can’t get onto the natural surfaces for annual preseason grooming until they dry out. He says the department walks a fine line between making residents happy by opening fields as soon as possible and waiting just enough time so as not to cause more long-term damage to the playing surfaces.

“The fear is if you open fields too early and they’re too wet, there’s going to be too much damage to them,” he said.

Samuelson said April 15 is the standard official opening date for the town’s fields, but notes that the high school begins play on the surfaces earlier. That may not be an option this spring.

Newtown High’s regular season is slated to begin for some teams on April 8. The golf, baseball, and softball teams, in particular, are at risk for having to have first-week contests rescheduled; lacrosse teams have access to the turf fields, which should be ready for action sooner.

Matt Memoli, coach of the Newtown High baseball team, notes that his players have had to conduct part of their preseason indoors almost every spring, but adds that this year’s extended winter will mean an unusually late start to the regular campaign.

“I don’t know when we’re going to be able to get on the field honestly,” said Memoli, who had March 26 and 28 home scrimmages canceled.

The coach likes to give prospective varsity players a chance to scrimmage either an opposing school or teammates as part of the tryout process, but that won’t be the case this so-called spring. Memoli is hopeful of getting in some of the eight scrimmages he scheduled.

The good news is that NYA has a full-sized infield and batting cage, and some turf space to allow for athletes to run and field balls. Although the team members can’t hit and catch high pop-ups because of the ceiling, they get to practice almost all elements of the game.

“It’s such a luxury for our kids to be able to use that,” the baseball coach said.

Additionally, the team members went out and shoveled snow at the school’s batting cage. “It shows the commitment of the kids,” Memoli adds.

Bob Guererra, coach of the NHS softball team, notes that his team is fortunate to have use of the Danbury PAL building.

“It won’t ever replicate what you can do outside,” said Guererra, adding, “We’re lucky to have that. We can certainly get a lot done.”

The softball coached add that he didn’t see a chance in the world that the team would get out on the back field for scrimmages next week and added that a consideration is to scrimmage on the Blue & Gold Stadium turf despite the fact foul lines, a pitcher’s circle, and proper bases aren’t on the turf.

The boys’ golf team and first-year varsity girls’ golf squad get to tee off and work on their form utilizing the Golf Lab’s virtual course equipment.

“If we didn’t have it, our season could be a disaster,” said Bill Flood, head coach of the boys’ team, adding that because the Golf Lab, which he runs, is new this winter, he expects the team members to be better prepared for their first on-course competition than they have in the past. This even with the unknown as to how much — if any — preseason course time the students will have before their first match. After all, the Golf Lab equipment includes a video camera that enables him to better work with golfers than if they were out on the course.

“This is the way it should be done,” Flood said. “This gives us the best opportunity to evaluate the kids.”

Flood is hoping the course’s fairways and greens are ready for play by mid April. “Our best-case scenario is April 15 if everything goes as planned,” he said.

Part of the planning process is more of a sit and wait scenario actually, as Flood and other coaches hope for a combination of warmth and rain to melt and wash the snow away.

Flood anticipates the possibility that some early-season matches will get postponed, but is optimistic about the prospects for a good campaign.

“I’m not really that worried — I think we’re in a good position,” Flood said.

And other good news, Samuelson notes, is that the fields — despite the fact they’ve remained coated in snow for longer than usual — stand to sustain less damage than after some winters in which drastic freeze-thaw cycles cause more problems. “That’s a lot more damaging than the snow,” he said.

Update: This article has been updated with information from Carl Samuelson, assistant director of parks.