For the first day of spring, March 20, there was still plenty of snow on the ground in the aftermath of the previous week's blizzard. Newtown High School's spring sports tryouts, as scheduled, got underway on March 18, just a few days after Mother Nature dumped more than a foot of white fluffy stuff on us. The Nighthawk squads had to bus away from campus to indoor facilities in and out of town.

The baseball team utilized the Rise Above Training Facility in town; the lacrosse, tennis, and golf squads went to NYA Sports & Fitness Center; and the softball team went to the Danbury Sports Dome and the Danbury PAL building. Newtown High's track and field squads managed to run where they could find dry land on the plowed parking lot. Boys' volleyball, being an indoor sport, got to use the high school gymnasium as always.

Newtown High's Blue & Gold Stadium turf field and track were cleared on March 20 when the NHS athletics department hired an outside contractor to do the job, freeing up makeshift field space for the softball and baseball teams, and giving the lacrosse and track squads room to practice. Newtown High Athletic Director Matt Memoli noted that this was justified given the expense to cover transportation to other venues and to rent time at those facilities.

A warm-up in temperatures allowed much of the snow to melt away on the school's natural grass fields, but they remained mostly blanketed with snow, and otherwise covered with ice, slush, and water, on March 21. With temperatures dropping again, bottoming out in the teens at night on March 22, and the start of the regular season set for the first week of April, it remains to be seen if early-on games will be held as planned.

"The start of the season is so much in jeopardy," Newtown Softball Coach Bob Guererra said during his two-hour block of practice time shared with the baseball squad, on the stadium turf.

"I don't mind doubling up, I don't mind playing every day either," Guererra said of the possibility of playing some two-opponent double headers or having to reschedule games such that the team wouldn't get days off.

"The kids stay sharper," he added.

The softball team utilized the soccer field side and end line for foul lines, and the corner marking for a makeshift home plate. A lacrosse net was used as a backstop. Snow banks surrounded the playing field as teams warmed up for the spring campaign.

After the field was cleared and the track was mostly cleared - some snow piles remained in the corners - the girls' and boys' track and field teams used the space together, the softball and baseball teams shared the field, and both lacrosse teams got out there each for two hours from about 2 to 8 pm. Good thing daylight saving time, which used to kick in during April, begins in March now.

Although not the ideal scenario for any of these teams, sharing field space, the girls' and boys' lacrosse teams at least get to play on a field with the proper markings and dimensions for the sport.

"We'll just share - that's part of being a program where everyone gets along. We lean on each other," said Scott Bulkley, coach of the boys' lacrosse team.

Snowy starts to the spring season are not uncommon, but it seemed for a while that there would be smooth sailing through the tryouts and preseason this go around. Until March there wasn't a whole lot of snowfall here.

"You just want warm weather and sun and all of a sudden you have snow," said Memoli, adding that the weather conditions are out of everybody's hands, but that the athletes and coaches are maintaining a positive attitude and making the most of the space they have.

"This is awesome," Guererra said of having access to the turf field, adding that some school teams may be restricted sharing smaller space in gymnasiums.

Warmer temperatures - albeit mostly in the upper 40s - and rain are forecast in the final week of March, but it remains to be seen if it'll be enough to wash and melt the snow away from the grass fields in time. And then, of course, the fields must be dry enough for use. "Our fields drain well," Guererra notes.

Boys' lacrosse is set to open up the regular season April 1 when Fairfield Prep visits for a 4 pm contest that wouldn't seem to be threatened by the conditions now that the field has been cleared. Girls' tennis is at New Milford at 11 am on April 1. In the past when courts haven't been cleared off in time, teams have used area indoor tennis and racquet clubs to stay on schedule. Newtown's boys' golf team is supposed to open its season April 3 with the girls hosting a match two days later, both at Rock Ridge Country Club - course conditions permitting.

The baseball team is slated to open the season April 4 at Staples High in Westport, and both the baseball and softball teams are scheduled to have their home openers on April 5 when St Joseph of Trumbull's lineups come to town for 4:15 first pitches. On April 6, the girls' lacrosse team is slated to kick off the campaign when New Milford comes to Blue & Gold Stadium for a 4 pm contest, and boys' tennis is to open on the road, at Pomperaug of Southbury, on April 6, beginning at 3:45 pm. The volleyball team begins April 5 with a visit to Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport, starting at 5:30 pm. Track and field competition won't get started until the middle of April.