Spring sports workouts begin at West Valley

The unseasonably warm temperatures and sunny skies led to a much-anticipated start to the spring sports calendar Monday.

So Mother Nature decided that would be a good day to let it snow.

A dusting of snow is no stranger to the start of spring practices in Eastern Washington. In fact, it just doesn’t seem like you’re into the season if you’re not knocking snow off something. If the first person into the high jump pit isn’t breaking through a thin layer of ice, it ain’t track season. And if you’re not serving through a haze of your own breath, it’s not really tennis season.

At least golfers have an excuse for not being out in the cold, wet and white – they have to wait for area golf courses to open.

On Monday, the first day of spring turnouts, West Valley was like most schools. Where the day before the ground had begun to have some friendly, spring-like give to it, it had turned hard again with the downturn in temperature. And the skies got darker with each passing drill.

“This is better than some years,” said first-year head coach Cory Aitken. “I remember one spring where we had to come out here and plow.”

Aitken oversaw the first official workout in newly named Jack Spring Stadium. The fundraising effort to purchase a big, new scoreboard for the field came up a little short of the target, but Athletics Director Jamie Nilles is confident the school district will be willing to make up the difference.

“I’m guessing that it will be ready in something like four to six weeks,” Nilles said. “Hopefully we can get it up over spring break and the team can have it for the final third of their season.”

Aitken is one of two first-year baseball coaches in the Spokane Valley. West Valley’s long-time head baseball coach, Don O’Neal asked for a one-year leave of absence from coaching, and Aitken, an assistant at WV for 10 years, moves up for one season.

Mike Amend, son of former head coach Harry Amend (1970-79), takes over the baseball program at Central Valley. Barry Poffenroth retired after the 2013-14 season.

University coach Tom Hoiland is beginning his second season as head coach, so for this year, at least, the only veteran coaches left are East Valley’s John Phelan and Freeman’s Chad Ripke.