Sunshine, at long last.

Tom Kramer and 20 Falcons finally got a chance this week to practice on the South Whidbey High School tennis courts.

Monday was the first day the girls tennis team was able to take to the courts in seven practices. Wind and rain prevented the tennis team from practicing earlier.

“That kind of weather favors more experienced teams,” Kramer said.

The sun shined on Monday, a brisk 40-degree day.

Don Wood, Falcon head softball coach, was thankful to be on the softball field for the first time, too.

He said that even on the days it didn’t rain (there were only two), the field was too muddy to practice on.

While the sun was out, though, Wood and the 13 softball players ran through infield drills, situational base-running and worked out the pitchers and catchers.

Freshman Haley Viers was the first Falcon player of the year to hit the dirt as she slid into third base. Wood and the team commended Viers with four “two-claps.”

“We’re just happy to be on the field,” Wood said.

Kramer, South Whidbey’s head tennis coach, reminded his athletes that even if the sun is out, he wanted their legs covered with sweatpants or other athletic pants to avoid unnecessary injury.

South Whidbey’s girls tennis team doesn’t have the depth to handle a few injuries, Kramer said. Kramer lost his top three singles players, top doubles team and Hayley Newman’s doubles partner to graduation, leaving the girls tennis team void of leadership.

“We haven’t started a season with this many questions in a long time,” Kramer said.

Questions abound for all the spring sports teams.

Doug Fulton, Falcon head track- and-field coach, said the team lost a handful of seniors, and he doesn’t know who will replace them. About 45 athletes signed up for track and field, which alarmed Fulton, who has watched the team’s numbers decline as South Whidbey’s population dipped during the past six years.

Wood and the softball team will have only a varsity squad with 13 players currently registered.

Dave Guetlin and the baseball program has 21 players registered, and expects to field a varsity and a junior varsity team.

Both teams open their seasons at Friday Harbor on Saturday, March 12.

The boys and girls golf teams spring into the season on Thursday, March 10 in a jamboree with Kamiak and Lake Stevens high schools, both 4A schools, at Battle Creek Golf Course in Marysville.

With rain forecast for the next five days, South Whidbey’s spring sports programs will continue to search for answers with minimal outdoor on-field or court practice.