Havre High track teams still waiting for the starting line

The spring sports season in Montana isn't official without a couple of cancelations. And the Havre High boys and girls track and field teams are finding that out first hand, as the Blue Ponies suffered yet another delay to the start of their season.

Saturday, the Central A Blue Ponies were expected to compete in Lewistown, but after a cancelation, the Ponies must wait at least a few more days before getting under way.

Now the plan is to hopefully compete at the North Star Cal Wearly track meet on Wednesday at the Havre Middle School track.

"The weather takes a toll on us mentally more than anything," Havre Head coach Trever VanCampen said. "The kids want to get out and compete and the coaches want to see them compete, and when we prepare for a meet and then it gets cancelled, it's just a mental letdown. But the kids have been great and have done everything we have asked them to do."

The late winter storms also put a damper on the Pony practices.

After a while, teams and athletes get sick of competing against each other in practice. Meets are the reward for hard work, and if they go too long without that reward, practice can get stagnant. But as the season marches on, so do the Ponies. And while they try to keep things rolling in practice, hopefully a break in the weather will soon reward HHS with some much-needed competition.

"We just try and keep things fun and up-tempo," VanCampen said. "Kind of a fun motivating practice just to let the kids know that we are all in the same boat. We try and change practices up just to keep the kids mentally intact, we need to keep them motivated and keep challenging them."