Welcome back spring sports, it’s been too long

It’s nice to be back, but coaches and players are going to face several challenges this season.

Over the past two weeks I’ve had several conversations with my mother about the return of high school spring sports.

Every conversation seemingly comes back to one observation: It’s been almost an entire two years since we’ve seen my brother play high school baseball.

My brother Michael, now a senior at Rocky River High School, is one of those thousands of players across Ohio who lost his junior season.

It’s been two years since he’s been able to put on the maroon and white for the Pirates and it’s taken a toll on him and my mom.

Like it has been for millions across the world, the past year has been tough for my family. Not just because my brother hasn’t been able to play baseball.

But seeing my brother play, even just in scrimmages, has been a welcome distraction from all that has happened. It’s been a long two years and I’m sure that coaches, players, parents and even us in the media have similar feelings to my mother.

It’s nice to be back.

It’s not all roses though. Coaches and players are going to face several challenges this season.

Freshmen who were looking forward to their first year of high school baseball are now sophomores with a new batch of freshmen below them.

Over the past two weeks, area coaches have been returning our spring sports preview forms. On said forms is a question about the strengths and weaknesses of a team. A common response from coaches in sports from softball to lacrosse has been, “inexperience on the varsity level.”