KINGSTON, Pa. -- The Kingston Lightning Youth Soccer League has had to cancel games the last three weekends because the fields are just too wet.
League officials and parents are using humor to get through the rainy weather.
The Kingston Lightning youth soccer fields are open for any and all water sports, but they're closed for anything actually related to soccer. At least, that's what league volunteers have been saying this week.
"We want them out here having fun. They're going to have fun out in the rain, generally speaking, as long as it's reasonably warm. but we have to keep them safe, so we have to make sure the fields are safe and playable to do that," said league official Thomas Hamill.
Like everyone else relying on the rain to stop to get anything done outside, so are the coaches, players, and parents involved with the Kingston Lightning youth soccer league. But they're getting through this weather with a little bit of humor, referring to Church Street Park as a lake, and having contests guessing how much rain will fall in a day.
"We know it's a headache and frustrating, so we try to keep it light. We try to make it clear that we're doing the best we can. The parents and families involved are wonderful, they have to adjust their schedules."
Games are canceled and the fields are closed even on dry days because the fields are still just too wet.
"Once they start to puddle up and become unsafe and unplayable and sometimes even when the sun is out they're shut down, we have no choice. They puddle and become unsafe," Hamill said.
Volunteers run the league and get the fields cleaned up. They say they are passionate about the players, but also the parents who have invested time and money so their kids can actually play soccer.
"They make our league go, and of course, everything we're doing is for the kids -- getting them to grow as soccer players on the field and as members of the community as well, out there having fun.
League officials say they think Mother Nature is definitely not a soccer mom.