NCAA athletes have to practice and compete regardless of if the weather is too hot, too cold or just right.

SIU is geographically one of the most southern schools in the Missouri Valley Conference. Since temperatures fluctuate, some sports teams have shown up to events with different weather conditions than expected.

Men’s golf coach Leroy Newton said the worst climate conditions for golf are cold temperatures and wind. Newton said the golfers are forced to try to keep their hands warm, and the wind comes into play with every shot. He said SIU is not always used to colder temperatures when the season changes.

“Say we go to Chicago and play in a tournament in the early spring, and it’s 35 or 40 degrees with a 10 to 15 mile-per-hour wind, it affects the southern schools more than the northern schools,” Newton said.

As far as practice goes, Newton said golf is not only affected by the current weather, but also the weather shortly before. Sometimes golf courses are flooded for days at a time, which keeps them closed. Newton said the team usually goes to the back of the range to hit, but they have to pick them up afterwards which also cuts into the time and quality of the practice.

“Weather can affect us simply by keeping us off the golf course,” Newton said. “Maybe the weather is good enough, but the previous weather conditions can keep the golf course closed.”

Unexpected weather is not always negative for athletes training. Cross country coach Matt Sparks said he wants athletes to train in all types of weather to prepare them for whatever conditions they may face.

“We don’t want to get them used to running in ideal conditions all the time,” Sparks said. “You have to run when it’s hot. You have to run when it’s cold. You have to run with whatever is thrown at you.”

Sparks said the recent snowfall has negatively affected the team. He said the runners do not always like to run on the indoor track or treadmills, but that was the only option after the snowfall.

“The guys and girls on the team will tell you, they’re getting tired of running in circles around the rec center track,” Sparks said. “Traditionally, we go out on the roads and go for five to 12 mile runs, but the first couple of days of the snow I would not let them go out and run on the ice.”

Baseball coach Ken Henderson said Carbondale’s recent snowfall has not bothered the team since NCAA rules prohibit offseason practice the week before and the week of finals.

Henderson said cold weather is not ideal, and they usually try to schedule games in the south early in the season.

“We just have to deal with it,” Henderson said. “It is part of college baseball, the season starts Feb. 14 and we can’t go to Florida every weekend.”

Henderson said last spring was without a doubt the coldest spring he could remember.

“Last year was the worst spring in my 24 years here,” Henderson said. “It was miserable all across the country. I think most baseball people will tell you it was the worst that any of us could remember.”

Henderson said precipitation and wind are worse than just cold weather. He said if the temperature is in the upper 30s and it is sunny, the team could practice or play.

“You can deal with the cold a little bit,” Henderson said. “Players are moving around, and a big part of it is clothing items. Under Armour, who we have a contract with, has tremendous cold gear.”

Climate can affect every sport differently, but sometimes athletes are forced to adjust whichever way the wind blows.