Winter weather the last two weeks has adversely affected high school sports across the Hawkeye State, impacting everything from practice time to regular-season events. Mother Nature claimed the first West Central Activites Conference basketball doubleheader of the season for the Panorama Panthers Tuesday, pushing their road trip to Ogden to a future date. The Raccoon Valley Radio Network spoke with Panorama girls basketball coach Dan Druivenga about the effects recent winter weather patterns have had on his team. Druivenga said a lack of quality practice time is his team’s consequence from the current winter weather. “We haven’t really practiced as a team for a couple of weeks,” Druivenga said, “A good practice and that makes it really difficult to get your chemistry going, plus put new (sets and formations) in, if you need to, to prep for new games. (Also), this time of year you’d like to make practices shorter instead of longer and Mother Natures (making us) do the opposite.”

The Panther varsity basketball teams will lose another day of practice today with no school in session due to the arctic wind chill values across the region. Weather permitting, Panorama hopes to return to the hardwood this Friday in a road West Central Activities Conference contest against the Interstate 35 Roadrunners.