I’m getting my first dose of spring sports and the weather that goes along with it.

Who would have thought you’d be wearing your winter coat and gloves in April? And how does a person manage to get a sunburn while wearing two coats and gloves at a baseball game? Welcome to southern Indiana.

I don’t know how many 40-degree days we’ve had in the past week, but it’s feeling more like winter if you ask me. And I’m sure the athletes and coaches will say the same thing. I’ve heard several of them talk about it. While they are actually out there running or swinging the softball or baseball bats, the tennis raquets or golf clubs, you might think they would be warmer since they are moving. I’m just standing in one place, usually, taking pictures and taking in the action, and I stay cold.

But if you ask them, I’m sure every one of them would say it has an effect on their performance. You have to give them credit, though, for going out there and practicing and competing in weather like that. And so far, I’ve seen some pretty good performances in this weather, so it looks like they are pulling through quite well.

It has, however, caused many events to be postponed, and some are set to be made up and others are unknown. It’s surprised me at the number of things called off so far. Some nights I’ll have 10-12 things scheduled, but by the time I get all of the cancellations, I’m down to about half or even less. Before the season began, some of the spring sports coaches told me they had several games they lost to the weather last year. Some of them even said, had they played those games, they might have had a better record. That’s too bad the weather has that effect on the sports, but that’s certainly out of our control.

From what I have seen so far this year, I’ve been impressed. Like I said, it’s my first time covering any spring sports. Even in high school, I didn’t compete in many sports at all (just my freshman year, I played tennis and golf) and I didn’t go to any spring sport events. I did go to many basketball and volleyball games, but those were indoors. Before this past winter, basketball was my limited writing knowledge, but I got into wrestling and swimming and I liked covering those events. It was a learn-as-you-go thing for me, but I feel more comfortable with it now.

That’s kind of the way I felt about some of the spring sports. Yeah, it may not be too difficult to understand things at a track meet, tennis match or a golf match, but with baseball and softball, you really have to know quite a bit of different rules and things as you are watching. I have learned more in the past few weeks about baseball than I ever knew. I remember going to Louisville Redbirds games when I was a kid, and I used to play minor league, but that was a long time ago. To me, those things really don’t count. Writing about them and keeping your own statistics is a lot different, I’ve learned.

To get to my point (finally), if you haven’t been out to see any of the local high school teams compete in track and field, baseball, softball, golf or tennis yet, I would suggest it. Sometimes, you may think you don’t have an interest in it or even a knowledge of it, but, like me, the more you go to the games the more you learn.
For instance, a few years ago, I didn’t have the slightest clue about football. But when my brother introduced me to it and the more I watched it, I understood it more than I thought I ever would. And now, I really like going to Indianapolis Colts games and watching them on TV.

Three of the Jackson County high schools — Seymour, Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran — have all five spring sports. Crothersville has all of the sports besides tennis and Medora only has track.

The most important thing about going to these games, I think, is supporting the student-athletes. Do you realize how much time these kids spend after school working to perfect their swing or their pole vault or their pitch? Plus, they are doing that on top of all of their school work. I don’t see how they do it, but you know what? All of these kids do it, and many of them excel in academics and athletics.
And they should be applauded for their efforts.

Also, no matter how good an athlete is, I think just the fact that they are out there competing and working hard, and in some cases, trying new things, that’s something to commended, too.
Best of luck to all of the student-athletes of Jackson County. I look forward to seeing your progress throughout the (much warmer) season.

***Be sure to follow these teams with complete coverage in the print edition of The Tribune and online at tribtown.com.

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