Covering high school sports in the springtime presents unique challenges due to the forces of Mother Nature.

On March 21, I planned on covering a girls softball contest on the Eastside. Unfortunately, a torrential downpour of rain draping the region at around 3:30 p.m. resulted in the game’s cancellation. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence during spring sports, especially in March. I have been a sports journalist since 2005 and during that timespan, I have witnessed countless baseball, softball and tennis competitions cancelled due to heavy precipitation. It is unfortunate, but is just the nature of the Pacific Northwest climate. One of the biggest challenges of being a sports journalist is Mother Nature’s unpredictability. You can have a concrete plan in place for coverage but it can evaporate. Being a journalist is a microcosm of life.

Things may be out of your control but it is essential that you find a way to make it work regardless of the circumstances that you were dealt.

Numerous cancellations of athletic contests are typically the norm in the first month of the spring sports season.

It isn’t unusual for teams to have three games a week in April and May because of the rained out contests in March. Oftentimes, non-league contests that are cancelled early in the season are not made up because they don’t matter with regard to league standings.

The final week of March and first week of April saw sunny skies and warm temperatures, which was a welcome sight for sports enthusiasts throughout the Eastside region. Temperatures were in the upper 60s and early 70s on April 1.

Spring is an exciting time of year but its an unpredictable one for not only athletes but for journalists, fans and community members as well.