On the opening day of the 2015 softball season, Pleasant Valley began its school day with a two-hour weather delay.

Later that afternoon, the Bears boarded a bus to Bethlehem to open the season against Liberty.But it wasn't just the first game of the season for Pleasant Valley, it was also the first time the Bears were able to step foot on a softball diamond at all.Up until that point, head coach Steve Caffrey and his Bears spent the entire preseason stuck inside a gymnasium holding tryouts and preparing themselves for the season.What a difference a year can make.This year, Pleasant Valley and the nine other area softball programs have been able to do something that they haven't been able to do in a long time.Instead of being forced to stay inside a compact gymnasium for most, if not all of preseason practice, spring sports teams received a special gift from Mother Nature. Teams were able to get outside early and often the past two weeks.How unusual is it for area teams to be on the field for the PIAA's first official practice date?Caffrey, who is now entering his 23rd season with the Bears, can't remember the last time his team opened preseason out on the field - or had the chance to spend more than a handful of practices outside before opening day of the season."I don't know if it has ever happened at all during my time here," Caffrey said. "It might have happened one other time, and that was at least 10 or 15 years ago."Marian head coach Joe DeAngelo said between snow on the ground, cold temperatures, or unplayable field conditions, there was almost always something that prevented his teams from getting significant time outdoors early in the season."To my recollection, I cannot remember being outside the entire first week," said DeAngelo, who spent 19 years with the Marian baseball program before his six years as softball coach. "I always said that softball is the only sport that practices in a gymnasium and then plays on the field. Obviously, it was a nice advantage for teams this year to get out on the field right away."Palmerton's Bob Hock agreed that it had been a long time since a team he coached opened preseason outside rather than indoors."I believe last year we got on the field for maybe two or three practices before our first game," said Hock, who is in his third season with the Bombers after spending 12 years coaching Northampton. "I believe it was my first season here that we weren't on the field at all before we played our first game. Both of my first two years here, preseason practices were just horrible. It definitely makes things difficult not seeing kids in a natural environment of a softball field."When you can get outside, and watch the skills at the actual distances, you really get to see what the kids are capable of doing."The mild weather the past few weeks is something that coaches and players across the area, and throughout the state for that matter, are enjoying."It was just a thrill for everyone, especially the players," said Hock. "Obviously, the nature of the game is to be played outside. And, in the gym, you can try to simulate things, but it's usually more condensed and not natural."So, to be out and have the weather that we did on top of it was an added bonus. It's been shorts and T-shirt weather for the most part. I don't think there was a softball program in the area that wasn't ecstatic to be outside. It was just phenomenal."Caffrey mentioned that the opportunity provided by the weather allowed his coaching staff the chance to do many different things."It was a great situation for us," Caffrey said. "In the past, when we were stuck inside all the time, you basically only got to work with the infielders, pitchers and catchers. At least this way, you got to see different kids in the outfield. We were able to work all the positions."Hock agreed, adding, "you can simulate an infield fairly well in the gym. However, there's no such thing as a bad hop. But, it's the longer distances of the game, fly balls especially, and outfield throws, that are difficult to manage indoors."You can only hit a ball so far in the gym. You can only hit it so high in the gym. And, they only have so much room to run. So, the openness of the field makes that aspect of evaluating the players so simple when you can see it happen outdoors."Outdoor spring practices are something all the coaches said they wish could become the normal routine."I was actually thinking, 'Wow, this is the way it is supposed to be,' " DeAngelo said. "You don't need to go to Florida for Spring Training in March if we're going to have weather like this in the Coal Region. It's just so much more enjoyable. This is the way the sport is supposed to be played."