This morning, I woke up and took a look at my clock, which read 8:56 a.m. It was one of those moments where my eyes opened wide and I thought, “Who am I? Where am I? Why am I still in bed?”

Sure enough, I took a look outside my window and saw about five inches of fresh snow on the ground. At this point, there were a couple things on my mind. No school meant Cyber Day and no practice.

While Mother Nature surely took care of students who were begging her to have the day off, the odds were definitely not in the favor of spring sports teams.

Yes, students love an unexpected day off, but when it comes down to that important, upcoming match against a rival school, they might regret missing practice time. Plus, there is always the chance that they cannot do a workout at home.

Battling the snow at the start of the spring season has proved to be a challenge.

The main issue teams have struggled with as a result of the snow is playing on the actual field. The school gym does not cut it, since there is a different feeling when athletes are on the field. On the field, the spirit of the game is alive and well, with dirt and grass under the players’ feet. Being outside and dragged down by the snow is not an option.

Jumping like jackrabbits through the snow while running our track workout tires everyone out too quickly, pushing us to the brink of exhaustion. The cold hurts our throats, and the wind pushes against us. Plus, by the time we finish, our feet are soaked from the amount of snow that clung to us during our torturous practice.

Cancelled practices here and there stalled many athletes from peaking and reaching their potential.

For some spring athletes, however, the cold was not as much of a roadblock. Aside from snow days when school was completely cancelled, the basketball, swimming, and wrestling teams practiced uninterrupted.

Snow may have cut practices and games here and there, but Patriots are uncompromising. Athletes will stop at nothing for the love of the game. With spring season beginning to warm up, a change in the weather will be much appreciated. So, how have all the snow days truley affected sports performance? Only time will tell.

Amanda Spaeth is a Sports Columnist for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.