After nearly 20 inches of snow buried Poly Prep’s campus and athletics fields in one of the largest snowfalls in New York City history, Poly’s spring sports teams have been forced to find alternative ways to practice. “You can only do so much indoors…you have to bow down to the weather sometimes,” said Varsity Baseball player Logan Geisler ’27.
New York City experienced a blizzard from February 21 to February 23, the second major snowfall of the month. New York City has not seen this much snow in years, so much so that the National Weather Service issued a Blizzard Warning — the first for NYC since 2017 — based on snowfall and wind criteria, according to The Guardian.
With the Spring sports season just around the corner, Poly’s snow-covered fields have affected team preparation. Unlike the Baseball and Softball Teams that have access to Poly’s Bubble for indoor training, Poly’s Outdoor Track and Lacrosse Teams have navigated around the icy outdoor conditions. Before the snowstorm, the Boys’ Lacrosse Team was “doing some conditioning and agility…[but] the first snowstorm really put the kibosh on things for about a week,” Louis Candel, Head Boys’ Lacrosse Coach and Head of Athletics, said. The Baseball Team, on the other hand, has been using Poly’s indoor facilities to practice. “We’ve been preparing by staying in the bubble, as well as using the weight room, staying ready,” Geisler said.
As the snow from February’s first blizzard began to melt, the Boys’ Lacrosse Team was able to have its first practice on the field. “I think it helped the energy level; kids were psyched to be out there,” Candel said. Nonetheless, caution was still exercised. “We made sure to go half speed during practice; nobody wanted to slip and get injured,” Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse player Marcus McIlwain ’27 said. As the blizzard gave Poly’s fields a fresh layer of snow, the Lacrosse team is set for another week or two of indoor practice. “We have upcoming games that we’re not able to prepare for as fully as we wish,” Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse player Lester Shamos ’27 said.
Intense preparation and execution were required to clean up both Poly’s Upper and Lower School campuses. Snow removal was coordinated by the Upper School Chief Engineer, the Engineering Manager, the Lower School Senior Facilities Technician and the Head of Facility Management, 24 hours before the blizzard. “Typically, for lower levels of snow, the pavement is pre-treated with salt, yet if the event calls for more accumulation, ice melt is applied,” said Head of Facility Management & Capital Projects Matt Stelluto, in an email to the Polygon.
On Poly’s Dyker Heights campus, 14 people were responsible for physically removing snow, while seven people completed the work for the Park Slope campus, according to Stelluto. “The Upper School and Lower School pedestrian paths took one day to shovel and apply ice melt, while the Upper Campus parking lots took two days to plow and apply ice melt,” Stelluto said.
The Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Team has faced similar struggles as practices shift indoors. “We’ve been using these indoor lacrosse balls. They replicate as best as they can what a lacrosse ball is, but it’s not the same; they’re a little smaller,” Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse player Lauren Pauls ’27 said.
Despite the lack of outdoor practice, optimism remains prevalent among the teams. “The snow isn’t going to last forever. We should be back out there soon,” said Pauls. While everyone loves a snow day or two, spring sports are waiting patiently for warmer weather and cleared fields. “I’ve been watching it melt slowly out my window,” Candel said.
