As the baseball season begins, players get their gear and hop on the bus. You’re probably thinking, the bus? Why would they get on a bus to practice baseball? Well, this year and for the next couple of years, all outdoor Paint Branch athletics will not have any home fields. All players will have to get on a bus and drive to a field to practice and play games.

One thing that is challenging about not having a home field is not having a practice field. It is really challenging to get from seventh period to the locker room and then to the bus in ten minuets. The team also doesn’t have anywhere to change, so they have to change on the bus. Without a home field, they have to practice on an unfamiliar field that is not even the right size. Both the varsity and the junior varsity head coaches have different views on the situation. When they were both asked if they think that it will be hard to teach their players what to do when they don’t have a full-sized field, they both responded in the same way. Varsity Coach Rey said, “It will be tough, but things that are tough to accomplish make us tougher as a team.” And Junior Varsity Coach Brunk said, “There are enough ways to simulate game situations without a regulation field. As long as we have a 90-foot diamond, we will be fine.”

Both coaches are looking at the positives of the situation, especially Coach Rey. When he was asked how he felt about not having a home field, he looked at the positives and said, “It will better prepare us for the playoffs.  Not having a home-field advantage will make us a tougher team.” Coach Brunk’s response was a little different; he was thinking more of the distant future when he said, “It leaves the upcoming seasons / teams a little “empty” not having a home field.” When some of the JV players where asked if they thought it was worth the wait for the new fields, Scott Donely said,” I think it’s worth the wait because the new fields are going to be really good.” Blake Brooks said, “I think it’s worth the wait because I would rather have the new school built before the fields are built.” Also, when they were asked how they felt about going off campus every day for practice, Scott said, “I don’t mind because I think it’s fun on the bus.”

One thing that really restricts baseball players is rain; since there was so much snow this winter and it also rained a lot, most of the fields in Montgomery County were unplayable when the season began. When a team is forced inside, there isn’t that much to do, and it’s hard to have real game situations in such a small place. Luckily, in the last couple of weeks, it was sunny and windy, which is the perfect combination to dry up baseball fields. The Panthers got to practice outside for that week when other teams in Montgomery County were still stuck inside. This gave the team a head start in preparing for the season. Unfortunately, after a wonderful week, it rained again, and they were stuck back inside until it dried up again. When they do have to practice inside, the varsity team goes to underground batting cages located in Laurel, and the JV team works out in the gym. Even though it’s hard to practice inside, the baseball teams make good use of the small amount of space they have.

Even though the Panthers don’t have a home field, the coaches and the players are making the best of what they have and using their situations to make themselves better for the 2010 season.