By Katy Nguyen & Junanna Chen, Staff Writers
At Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), the athletics programs run from fall to spring and even extend to summer camps. Practices are usually daily but the majority of the sports are limited to the time and space to practice. Especially during games and other major school-wide events, many other athletics programs are affected.
Roger Holmes, the new athletics director at FVHS, is working with in and off-season sports to organize their practice schedule.
“We’re trying to get enough time for people to get to practice where they want to practice,” said Holmes “…it’s kind of like a puzzle. So if you have Track out there practicing, and then Field Hockey has a game, then Track has to move their spot- they’ve been out there for an hour so it’s kind of putting people on, people that come in. It’s a thing where throughout the year [the schedule] balances out.”
The turf is always in high demand with sports such as football, field hockey and soccer. During games, this limits the usage of the track for track & field and cross-country. However, these sports teams have been cooperative in allowing in-season sports to have their game day.
“My goal here is to get along and have no problems with one using the turf, or one using the weight room… I think that there are enough good people here that we can share and manage our time. Whoever is in-season deserves it more…I don’t think that anyone deserves one thing more than another sport,” said varsity football coach Jimmy Nolan.
FVHS is known for being the most populated high school among those in the Huntington Beach Union High School District and because of that, there have been many disadvantages in the athletics programs because of the lack of space.
“Once they improved the facilities, enrollment went up, kids were coming out of nowhere and wanting to go to school there. Kids got happy, the school and the sports got better. There are all kinds of opportunities. And overall, sports in itself really uplift a school,” said varsity boys’ basketball coach D’Cean Bryant on how FVHS is similar to his former school’s facility.
Many coaches agree that the facility is in good shape and condition, despite being constantly used. They all state that communication is key for running successful programs.
“I just think that we just have to communicate with one another and figure out how we can improve it, what everybody needs versus wants. How can it help everybody…so we just have to always recognize that there’s other people involved and it’s not just us,” said Bryant.
The cooperation and patience of the coaches and athletes have been incredibly well. Their continuation to understand their own and others’ needs helps create remarkable sport seasons.
“We do have to get out of the gym and we understand that… it’s just a matter of making sure that everybody let’s each other have some time. I think that it’s important that everyone just has some time,” said varsity girls’ basketball coach Marianne Karp.
However, communication can only do so much for all of the sports. The biggest issue at hand is the amount of space given to sports. It’s difficult to fathom that FVHS could be any more crowded than it already is, but several sports overlap each other for the same spot at the same time.
“We kinda need our own space. That’s us, that’s our time away from everyone and to decompress and do things and think,” said Bryant.
Time is of the essence and when games are hosted at FVHS, it results in a practice being canceled, a shortened practice, or a rescheduled practice; to deal with inconveniences like that is exhausting.
As the disruptions begin to pile on top of each other and patience begins to wear thin, it is inevitable that additional facilities are no longer a want but a need.
“Get[ting] a fundraising program together… [and] we can really use that second turf field. Helps put pressure off of everybody as far as- you know if we had another field there… that’d be great,” said Holmes.
The obvious solution to this problem would be to create more space. FVHS is limited to the amount of land already being used and expansion is not possible as the high school is enclosed by the church, residential, and Valley Vista High School.
It’s only a matter of organizing that space accordingly as administration is working hard to get the necessary funds to build new infrastructures.
“So some other schools in our district have a second turf field, which would be great to get… [Dr. Smith] started last year a campaign to start and try to raise some funds to do some facility improvements. Hopefully, that’s coming,” said Holmes.
