Los Angeles, the dry-heat desert of the west coast, has been suddenly inundated with heavy rain. While the average seasonal rainfall in inches is 15 per year, the 2022-2023 rain season has seen 27 inches with no sign of stopping.
The rainy weather in SoCal is really affecting outdoor spring sports, in particular. Varsity hurdler Calvin Conroy ‘24 commented, “Rain has been detrimental to our training. The track gets really wet, and it’s prevented us from doing much outside.”
Loyola baseball has had quite an interesting start to the season because games have had to be postponed numerous times. Baseball plays on grass fields, not turf, so mud becomes dangerous, and the fields can be damaged if games go on as scheduled. Games are usually played on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Due to the rain, however, games have been played on all the other days of the week as well. Games are even being played on Saturdays, which completely changes how players have had to prep. There is a
ripple effect. Rescheduling of buses, concessions, and umpires all take time and resources, something coaches, Athletic Director Chris O’Donnell ‘88 and Administrative Assistant for Athletics, Cindy Cassutt have dealt with this rainy season.
Assistant varsity baseball coach Gabriel Rodriguez said, “The weather has been affecting our overall season not only just for playing purposes but the field surfaces as well. We’ve had plans to help correct things, but because of the weather, we’ve had to play back to back to back games. This has affected not only our family lives but also our personal lives. Instead of getting our rest day, we’ve all had to put more time together, which has made us closer and tighter in the long run.”
Although many of the coaches have been frustrated by the rain, math teacher and JV football coach PJ Pascale is personally a fan. “I love the rain because we never get enough of it.”
When asked about the effects, CY Coordinator and Spanish teacher Kaitlin Collins-Pardo said, “We’ve had to pivot and adapt a lot of our events – if not cancel them.”
Like Pascale, Pardo personally enjoys the rain. “Californians are really hilarious about rain. I’m originally from Ohio, so rain is no stranger to me. The longer I am in LA, the less I’m used to the rain. The way we act with rain in California is really comical. It really impacts mood and makes a lot of the students angrier.”
While many of the effects have been negative, there have been some silver linings for the Center for Service and Justice. Service and Justice Program Coordinator Emil Sol ‘18 said, “Our office space tends to get a little bit more packed during the rain. There are more kids coming into their office, which leads to many students noticing and becoming aware of the many community service opportunities that we offer.”
One of the universally experienced effects of the rain was dealing with getting used to driving and parking in the rain. Sharing his point of view, well-loved Loyola security guard Eli Hernandez commented, “It’s often raining during pickup and drop off times. This is causing a lot of traffic. Many of the students’ cars were damaged in the wet gravel lot.
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