Weather creates scheduling chaos

MHS teams spent most of week indoors

By: Rudy Brandl
   Manville High’s athletic teams took an unexpected week off from competition after a snowstorm and a few subsequent days of rain left fields unplayable. The Apr. 7 snowfall halted all activities until later in the week, when heavy rain further saturated the baseball and softball fields to completely wipe out five days of action.
   The crazy weather left athletic directors scrambling to reschedule events, coaches trying to keep practices productive indoors and athletes chomping at the bit to get outside. Manville’s baseball and softball teams were scheduled to host Roselle Monday, 10 days after their last game Apr. 4. The MHS track team was slated to host Oratory Tuesday, 11 days since their previous meet.
   "The season hasn’t really gotten underway and we’re back inside," MHS athletic director Pat LaMastro said. "But this comes with the territory in spring sports. I can remember very few seasons where we’ve walked through out schedule without cancellations. I feel bad for the kids."
   LaMastro feels lucky to have veteran coaches who don’t panic in these situations. Baseball skipper Steve Venuto has been at the helm for more than 10 years. Softball coach Ed Knapp is in his second year with the Lady Mustangs but is a veteran of various coaching positions at different schools. Track and field coach Tony Treonze has been at it for 37 years.
   "I’m used to this," Venuto said. "It’s the same for everybody, but not doing much for a week was probably a blessing for us. It gives those guys a couple more days to throw and get more in shape."
   Venuto was referring to his pitchers, three of whom started throwing late due to a conflict with basketball season and another who’s recovering from a shoulder injury. Last week’s break gave senior ace Justin Jurkowski extra time to get ready for his first start, which may come this week. Eddie Gryzeski, Robert Snyder and Sean McCarthy all saw action in the opening week and should be well-rested for this week’s slate of three games.
   The baseball and softball teams used the indoor batting cage and spent most of the practice time in the gym. The track athletes ran around the halls and used the weight room.
   "It’s not like being outside, but we have the batting cage and our coaches do a great job with the facilities," LaMastro said.
   The MHS fields were back in shape ready for play Monday, the start of a busy but short week. LaMastro had to do some juggling with the schedule, especially since the baseball and softball schedules aren’t exactly alike with slightly different divisional alignments.
   "It’s like a puzzle you have to put together," LaMastro said. "It can be mind-boggling. You want to have your games and you have to try to do what’s best for your school but you have to consider the other school. Scheduling can become a big problem but that’s only the first hurdle. Then you have to get umpires."
   Officials figure to be in high demand for the rest of the spring season, since very few athletic events took place in Central Jersey last week. Aside from a handful of Saturday lacrosse games, there was nothing on the scholastic sports scene last week.
   One unfortunate casualty of all these postponements are the non-conference games. MHS probably won’t make up its baseball games vs. South Hunterdon and Somerset Vo-Tech, while the softball contest against arch rival Bound Brook (now in a different division) isn’t likely to be rescheduled. LaMastro had to scrap the Vo-Tech baseball game to make room for Monday’s Sky Division game against Roselle.
   "A lot of teams are going to knock out their independents," Venuto said. "We have to get our conference games in first."
   Last week’s Roselle games were moved to Monday, with both MHS teams playing at home. The baseball team’s home game vs. Bound Brook was moved to May 14, while the softball game at David Brearley was slated to be made up yesterday in Kenilworth.
   The track team has yet to compete in a meet on a scheduled date. After opening the season with a home victory over Dayton two days after the original date, the Mustangs have rescheduled their meets with Middlesex (from Apr. 5 to May 22) and David Brearley (from Apr. 8 to May 15) in addition to moving the Newark Central home meet from Apr. 22 to Apr. 17.
   With a dry, warm week of weather, the MHS teams should get right back on track.