By Mother Nature 32 Carroll 0
And that’s only the half time score!
Despite moody Montana weather trying to kill our spirits, we have persevered and made it through another winter and spring semester at Carroll College and found ways to make it fun.
This extended winter has affected students all across campus including sports, spring activities, field courses, and just our overall energy. People were drained and wanting the long winter and classes to just end.
We wanted to be put out of our misery!
Spring sports were especially hit hard. They were forced to practice indoors potentially limiting their growth and enthusiasm. Quite frequently being in the gym meant less running which no one complained about.
Both the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams found themselves checking the P.E. Center’s gym schedules more than they ever have before. Which was discouraging due to loss of valuable training time, that was expected and desired.
Traditionally, the soccer teams rejoice for the months after spring break when they can don their cleats again and get back onto the practice fields without the snow. However, this spring off-season saw the soccer coaches vying for available training times on the gym court.
Not only were the soccer coaches looking for free gym space, but football also utilized the Saints’ court more than they usually anticipate. They missed being outside, including splashing in the mud and the cool air.
The Fighting Saints Football team trained through the early hours of the mornings to run drills and patterns on the gym court while lifting tirelessly throughout the other hours of the day.
Track and Field is another sport affected by the snow forcing the team to practice inside and shovel the track for the Carroll Duals meet. The team was not so thrilled to be doing manual labor before a meet.
Shoveling snow is not fun!
Despite all of this, several of their athletes are going to Nationals.
The weather was not kind to the Softball team either. They were not allowed to practice outside as they normally would and games had to be rearranged.
To compete at the highest level of NAIA softball, takes a lot of grit and dedication. To only be limited to a small space could have been detrimental.
Another aspect of Carroll life that the lingering snow tried to one up was the renowned Softball Weekend.
Softball Weekend is one of the most beloved weekends of the year. Playing softball games with and against friends brings together the student body for a weekend of fun.
This year however, teams lamented when the snow came just days before. Thankfully, they were promised it would be held the weekend after. Despite some teams needing to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with other Carroll sanctioned events, the following weekend brought bouts of fun with clear skies and warm weather.
CAMP activities were also bombarded by the wild weather, having to cancel, postpone, or be creative with events. Moving practice fly fishing inside, canceling mountain biking and climbing, etc.
They only have so many activities they can do outside in the winter. Unfortunately this caused CAMP to not be able to hold any events some weeks this last semester. Creativity needed to be flowing from CAMP leaders left and right to put forth a fun and engaging semester.
Another way the drastic changes in weather attacked the Carroll community was through its Field courses.
Ichthyology, the study of fish, taught by Grant Hokit had to postpone the first lab by a week. This was particularly problematic as the course is only half the semester as most labs need to be outside. This course involves doing stream assessments and fish surveys. The students also had to dress appropriately to be outside and in the water, acquiring waders or at the very least rubber boats for the conditions. Students absolutely loved being in the streams while it was snowing.
Another field course, Ecology Lab, involved a lot of persevering and being prepared for the conditions. There were also more indoor labs than outdoor labs due to the moody weather.
Students were disappointed in having to be indoors when they were anticipating more outdoor adventures. This included Soil Genesis and Classification, taught by professor Patricia Heiser.
The Soils class anticipates snowy weather for the first half of its course, but banks on relatively clear skies for its last month.
This is so that they can get into the great outdoors of Montana’s Big Sky country and study the soil profiles of our land’s rich history. This year, however, Heiser and her crew of upcoming environmental scientists were forced to study, rain or shine, after several lab days were pushed back due to Mother Nature’s wrath.
The weather has also caused the Carroll Community to feel drowsy and unmotivated while waiting for spring. This made the winter and spring semester feel so much longer and draining.
Montana’s weather just adds to our motto, Non scholae sed vitae, not for school, but for life. The weather makes us stronger and provides opportunities for new fun and maybe not so fun memories.
Now that we have skipped spring and have launched into summer let’s make it a good one, Saints.
