As snow hit the area on Saturday and temperatures are expected to hover between the 20s and 40s over the next week, there was a certain damper put on the anticipation of the spring sports season.

Luckily for the Packer teams, they have the dome at Wescott Athletic Complex to help them stay up to speed as they prepare for the season. The Austin softball team will host Hayfield in a scrimmage in the dome at 4 p.m. Tuesday and it will open its regular season by hosting Rochester Century in a doubleheader in the dome at 4 p.m. on Thursday

Other Austin teams have also reaped the benefits of the dome as well as the Packer baseball team has been holding workouts since December, the Packer boys and girls golf teams have used the facility for practice and the Austin boys and girls track and field teams have used it as well.

Austin head baseball coach Joe Kroc said some of the players may have been a little in awe of the dome when it first opened in 2016, but now they’re strictly focused on using the dome to get better.

“Coach [Andy] Swank and I came from baseball programs that had domes and we know how to utilize it. For the kids, I think now it’s just another practice facility for them and hopefully we can take advantage of that and be ready to go game one,” Kroc said. “It’s a game changer for us, especially now when we might not have a game until mid-April. We’re able to get things in here done that we wouldn’t be able to do in Hastings Gym, like hitting cut-offs and really strengthening our arms by throwing long distances.”

Austin senior baseball player Ross Young said the dome gives the Packers plenty of chances to stay on top of things that the tight confines of a gym wouldn’t allow.

“You not only have a lot of room to throw, you can also take ground balls, you can work on footwork in the outfield and you have cages in the back where you can hit,” Young said. “There’ s a lot of things that can keep us in front of our competition.”

While the Packer track and field team has used the dome to get out and run in cold weather, the Austin throwers were also taking advantage of the friendly confines on Monday morning. Thomas Kroymann, a junior thrower, said the dome is the only place to throw a discus before outdoor fields dry out.

“The dome helps us a lot because we can’t throw anywhere in the high school and it’s nice to come in here and get some throws in to get some distances and see we’re you’re at,” Kroymann said.

As area athletes wait for the weather to cooperate and get spring sports going, the Packers will continue to grind away indoors.

“It gives you quite a head start if you use it,” Austin senior baseball player Josi Bothun said. “I think it helps build our confidence a little.”