With several inches of snow still on the ground Monday, area athletic directors were scrambling to accommodate each of their teams on the first day of spring sports practice.In what has nearly become a standard, Warren County student-athletes who are eager to get outside are instead finding themselves confined to the gym, hallway or whatever open space in the school is available to practice.This week marks the official practice debuts for baseball, girls soccer, golf and track, but it is unlikely they will get outside much soon as temperatures are anticipated to dip again later in the week.“We’ve got teams all over the school, trying to accommodate everyone as best as possible,” said Warrenton Activities Director Bobby Spoonster.In addition to having to practice indoors, Warrenton teams are also limited in numbers, as the basketball programs compete in the Class 4 District 8 Tournament at Kirksville. While it can be a hindrance on spring sports coaches, Spoonster says a delayed start because of unusual success in basketball is a good problem to have.“You always want to play as long as you can,” said Spoonster. “That’s something we want to expect from now on. We want to make it a steadfast thing where we’re playing into early March.”He says athletes joining the team late due to playoff competition will not be subject to MSHSAA’s practice number rule. Those not participating in a winter sport will need to garner 14 days of practice to be eligible for spring competition.Warrenton will see little change in its spring sports teams in terms of leadership, with all veteran coaches returning.Golf coach Rich Barton says his team is brushing on the technicalities of the game, withe the course having been draped in snow for much of the last several weeks.“We will be working on putting drills while inside so hopefully that will pay off for us down the road,” said Barton. “We will also use this time to introduce our new members to  the large amount of rules that they need to be aware of now that they are playing golf for a real score.”His golf team will have plenty of time to prepare, though, with its first match not being until March 25.The Warrenton baseball team is not so fortunate in terms of buying time, as their debut promptly awaits in a March 14 trip to Mexico. The Warriors’ coaching staff will also be working double time, with Head Coach Eric Burle and assistant Mike Uffmann still guiding basketball programs in the postseason.Warrenton track coaches are reporting improved numbers over last season, with 35 boys joining and 24 girls reporting on day one.At Wright City, the baseball, golf and track teams are beginning their seasons indoors.“Any more it’s almost expected that some point during first week of practice it’s going to snow,” quipped Smith. “You just start gearing up for that in advance.”However, the track team expects to soon be taking advantage of the all-weather track. Moisture may delay some of the field events from immediate live action, but Coach Sue Wright doesn’t anticipate any problems in having her team prepared for its debut at the Warrenton Warm-up meet on March 31.“As long as we do not have to shovel snow off the track we will be out every day,” said Wright. “The all-weather surface allows us to have that opportunity. There is no doubt that our track team has had better results since we built the track due to the ability to be outside most of the season.”Shannon Wells says he had 26 players show up for Wright City baseball practice on day one, as the Wildcats worked through indoor station drills.Meanwhile, golf coach Bill Schaffer is waiting for the grounds at Innsbrook to thaw out so he can evaluate the 20 students who showed interest in filling the team this season.“It seemed that every coach was pleasantly surprised with the numbers they had out in each sport the first day,” said Smith. “Numbers are up, especially on the girls side in track.”SPRING SPORTS DEBUTDerrick Forsythe photo.