Before the season, 'Aiea baseball coach Ryan Kato had six "rainy day" plans prepared just in case.

Kato "ran out of those plans" a long time ago.

Weeks of record rainfall and thunderstorms have led to the wettest March since 1951, and thousands of Hawai'i athletes are forced indoors waiting for dry weather.

Showers are likely today, and there's even a chance of a thunderstorm.

The city park where 'Aiea practices is "unplayable" and with some areas ankle-deep in water, it forces Kato to restrict his practices to certain areas on the field, take ground balls on the basketball court at the park, lift weights in the gym, and do running drills under the school's gym.

"The last time we actually had a decent practice was the eighth of March," Kato said. "Ever since then we haven't had one regular practice.

"But I'm assuming everyone is in the same boat, so we're not at a disadvantage. I don't recall the weather ever being this bad."

Sports at all levels have been postponed because of inclement weather.

For two days last week the University of Hawai'i football team practiced at Les Murakami Stadium because its grass field was under water. The team is off this week for spring break.

Also, the UH baseball team canceled a game with UC Santa Barbara Tuesday, the men's tennis team postponed its match against Brigham Young yesterday, the Rainbow Wahine softball team was forced indoors to practice yesterday, and high school sports coordinators are scrambling to reschedule games.

"We're getting really backlogged," said Georges Gilbert, Interscholastic League of Honolulu spokesman. "We have a regular (athletic director's) meeting next week to work on the scheduling. There's a lot of scheduling, sites, umpires, scorekeepers, personal school events (to consider). The longer the rain persists, the tighter the schedule gets in terms of flexibility."

Gilbert said ILH baseball, track and field, golf, and tennis events are affected.

High school athletes aren't the only ones missing out on outdoor activity.

Sergio Bolioli, president of the Men's Island Soccer Organization, has had to cancel 28 games over a two-week period, including last night.

"It's affecting the players, and it's not just the games, but a lot of practices are being canceled," Bolioli said. "A lot of people are becoming couch potatoes."

Even water sports are being affected by the storms.

Lightning closed all 20 city and county pools on O'ahu yesterday because of a city policy based on American Red Cross standards, according to Linda Fujihara, sports and aquatics coordinator for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

"Regular swimmers know, because that's a policy across the board," Fujihara said. "When thunder and lightning strike, they know it's closed."

Lightning also forced the closure of golf courses.

Ala Wai Golf Course closed at 1:30 p.m., according to Garrick Iwamuro, the course's system administrator. Ala Wai averages 400 to 500 rounds a day, and has been suffering financially from the bad weather.

"And with all this rain, the golf course is unplayable," Iwamuro said. "The other municipal courses are going through the same thing.

"A lot of golfers are going through withdrawal symptoms. They're just raring to play, but with this weather, there's nothing we can do."

It's not the rain preventing members of Healani Canoe Club from practicing. When a broken main spewed millions of gallons of raw sewage into Ala Wai Canal last Friday, they were forced out of the water.

"We practice on the Ala Wai, but we don't start getting on the water until April," Healani Canoe Club member Che Sabol said. "Some of the novice programs have started, but because of the sewage spill, we have to stop.

"Even though the weather is crazy, we still try to have them condition. There's really nothing we can do, so it's a bummer. We just have to make do with what we have."

The National Scholastic Surfing Association Hawaiian Regional Championships was postponed Wednesday because of the sewage contamination at Kewalo Basin.

"We're looking at it like you can't control Mother Nature," NSSA Hawai'i director Bobbi Lee said. "The safety issue of the children was my first concern."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.