March 29, 2017 at 3:06 p.m.
Hodag tennis stays late in opening practices
Hodag tennis stays late in opening practices
With the majority of playing fields are still not quite ready for play, all RHS spring sports teams are clamoring for time and space inside the Jim Miazga Community Gymnasium. The Hodag netters drew the short - or perhaps the long - straw, depending on how one looks at it, finally hitting the gym a little after 8 p.m. Monday for their first practice.
The RHS tennis courts are clear of snow and pretty much ready for play - in fact coach Bob Heideman said the team planned to practice outside Wednesday - but the long-time Hodag coach said he'd rather be inside during the first week, and that the late starting time may actually benefit his team.
"Right away the kids are bellyaching about it, and I understand that, but I know this - the gym does three things that are invaluable, the gym late at night," he said. "First thing is, when you're practicing right after school, you always have kids (not on the team) coming in, looking around and it's a distraction. Late at night, it's not here. The second thing is that you focus purely on fundamentals because there's no competition. We have no lines. I think that's a real positive. The third thing is that if we practice this late, we get an extra half hour of practice. Those outweigh the other (factors). The kids like to go outside but what happens is you say we're going to go outside and it ends up you can't go outside. Now what do you do? I guess the fourth thing is the gym, going inside, makes some consistency. That's important also."
Despite the weather, Heideman said he plans to have the team practice indoors through the first week and he'll make a call about next week in the near future. The rub is the team will not have much time to prepare, with the first match of the season scheduled for next Thursday at Medford. That will be quickly followed by a four-team meet in Wausau next Saturday.
"I haven't even looked that far because I think tonight will tell some things," Heideman said before Monday's practice. "We'll do a lot of sorting this week and then (next) Monday and that we'll really start to put a lineup together in terms of getting ready for the match. We need to hit balls."
The team has just under 20 kids on the roster and a little more than half of them will be vying for varsity spots on a team that has won the Great Northern Conference title five of the last six years.
"Kids, you can just sense that they're anxious," Heideman said.
Monday was the first day tennis and golf teams could practice throughout the state, though the RHS golf team has elected to start late, holding its first practice Thursday afternoon.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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