The Marra Sports Complex after Tate has cleared it
Photo Courtesy of GoBonnies
BY: CONAN LYNCH, STAFF WRITER
Mike Tate, superintendent of St. Bonaventure University’s golf course and sports fields, uses a snow pusher to clear the Tom 80’ and Michelle Marra Sports Complex when it snows.
“I’m the only one who clears it,” Tate said. “And, I can have the field done in about two hours.”
Tate said he is dedicated to ensuring that athletes have access to the field for outdoor practices.
Located in Western New York, Bonaventure’s campus experiences winter weather for several months a year. Teams that use the Marra field usually have consistent access to it regardless of the weather due to Tate’s work.
He has only had to clear the field about a dozen times this year, a relatively small number compared to previous years, according to Tate.
Occasionally there will be too much snow on the field. When this happens, teams that use the field can’t practice outdoors, so they have to find other ways to train. This could mean having a team workout indoors or having film review. Athletes are often made aware on short notice if they cannot practice outdoors. They might be notified anywhere from an hour prior to five minutes prior. It all depends on the weather that day.
With regard to whether the field will be cleared, Tate said that “Usually that decision is made that morning.”
Both the women’s lacrosse women’s soccer teams have missed a few practices this season due to inclement weather.
“I think we’ve had to cancel anywhere from three to five [practices],” LeighAnn Stauffer, women’s lacrosse head coach, said. “Oddly enough, it was a mild winter, but those five days are almost a week and that costs us,”
Stauffer was adamant that she and her coaching staff have a system of plans in place for what to do with the team when they’re unable to practice outdoors. For a canceled outdoor practice she usually has the team do drills and some type of conditioning.
“We’ve done different bike workouts and circuits and yoga and kind of whatever we can get our hands on and what’s available on that day,” Stauffer said.
Canceled practices and games can strip the athletes of their excitement to perform.
“It’s definitely a bummer, especially if it’s a game because we’re looking forward to it, and if it’s a practice it’s tough especially during the week of a game, because we’re missing a day of preparation,” Caroline Yoder, senior captain of the women’s lacrosse team, said.
This academic year also had fewer practice cancellations for the women’s lacrosse team than during previous years.
“Freshman year [2020-2021] was obviously the worst because of COVID-19, so along with the weather we were missing practices for COVID-19-related reasons,” Riley Schott, junior attacker for the lacrosse team, said.
Schott also said she felt like last year had a more harsh winter. Stauffer and Tate both said that this year the winter was less severe.
According to the NCAA, once the temperature is 15 F and below, athletes are allowed 45 minutes outside, but then they’re required to spend 20 minutes inside to warm up before going back outside for another 45 minutes. No practices are allowed if the temperature drops below zero.
“Because our resources are sometimes limited, it isn’t always a guarantee that we’ll be able to practice,” Yoder said.
Working with the elements has its drawbacks, but teams will still find ways to adapt. Yoder said that they have substituted outdoor practices with yoga or fitness sessions in the Richter Center as well as intersquad basketball competitions.
The women’s soccer team has also had to deal with a few cancellations.
“We’ve had to completely cancel two practices this year,” Christine Napoli, senior captain of the women’s soccer team, said.
The women’s soccer coaching staff also have backup plans in case the team isn’t able to go outside.
“Our coach does work hard to make sure we are getting in work regardless of weather,” Napoli said. “This past weekend he managed to move our game up by 2 hours so that we were able to play the game on the day we were scheduled to rather than moving or canceling it.”
Donny George, the new women’s soccer coach, was able to make sure the team didn’t have to worry about missing a game because of the weather by rescheduling it in accordance with the weather forecast.
The players on the women’s lacrosse team trust their coaches to make the right decisions when dealing with adjustments to the schedule.
“Our coaches are very good at communicating any updates, and they always reach out to the school to look for any indoor facilities,” Yoder said.
She also said the coaches are good about communicating changes to the captains to relay to the rest of the team.
Teams that use the Marra sports complex must adapt when the temperature is too cold or if there is too much snow.
“I’m always out there when it snows,” Tate said. “Once I cleared the field at 6 p.m. on a Friday until 1 a.m. and had to go over [the field] the next morning because there was about two inches.”
Tate works to ensure teams who use the field miss practice only in the most extreme cases of snowfall.
lynchcb19@bonaventure.edu
