March 15, 2017 at 4:10 p.m.
Back in the swing of things
Back in the swing of things
That's not because of a lack of interest in a team that has won 18 or more games in each of the last three seasons. That's because Monday was also the start of spring break in the School District of Rhinelander.
"Unfortunately we're missing about half our team with spring break, but we had 15-16 girls here and they're doing fine," third-year coach D.J. DeMeyer said. "We're working at it."
Though Mother Nature has teased the Hodags with signs of spring - the varsity field at Pioneer Park was almost completely devoid of snow - this week's cold snap forced the team indoors as it holds mid-afternoon practices until Thursday. The team plans an alternate activity for Friday as the gym will be unavailable due to set up for the annual Hodag Home Show.
On Monday the team had the batting cages running, pitching stations and plenty of gym space for the players to field ground balls. DeMeyer said that's the objective during Week 1.
"I think we just work on fundamentals," he said. "We work on our hitting. We work on our throwing. We work on our fielding and just keep it simple. The girls are on spring break so we want to let them have some fun but, yet get some work in."
DeMeyer said participation in the offseason - from summer to fall leagues to winter open gyms - has been good, meaning that several girls already have a head start on the season.
Rhinelander opens Great Northern Conference play against at Medford April 11 and hopes to be battle tested by then, as long as Mother Nature cooperates.
The team last week added an early-season game to its schedule, traveling to Merrill March 28, assuming their fields will be ready to play. The weather may throw the team a bone, with temperatures forecasted to be at or above normal in the latest 8-14 day outlook from the National Weather Service. DeMeyer said he's optimistic the game will be played.
"I know we just got a little bit of snow (Monday), but I was on our field here on Sunday and I know it might be a little frozen, but that field's drying up pretty fast," he said. "(Merrill) is about an hour south of us. They might be ready."
If the Merrill game cannot be played, the Hodags will still have two other cracks at Wisconsin Valley opponents before the GNC opener. The Hodags head to Marshfield April 4 and will travel to defending Division 1 state champion Stevens Point April 10.
But DeMeyer said the team still has plenty to get done before it takes to the diamond.
"We have to get our full team here first and then we've got to start breaking down who's going to be on varsity and who's going to be on JV and there's a lot of spots open on varsity," he said. "We have I think three spots to fill from last year that aren't returning. There's some opportunities for some ladies and they have to show me what they can do."
The RHS softball team was the second squad to begin practice for the upcoming season. The Hodag track team began practice last Monday, the RHS baseball and girls' soccer teams start next Monday and the RHS golf and boys' tennis teams will begin training March 27. The earliest day of practice is mandated by the WIAA.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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