Caledonia Argus

New athletic fields still getting in shape for the season

Posted: 8/6/02

By Shannon McKinney

Argus Sports Writer

With the start of a new sports season, many exciting events will be happening at the new middle school high school.

However, some things that had originally had been planned to happen at the new school will have to wait a little while longer said Caledonia High School Athletic Director Ken Van Den Boom. ìThe public and coaches are being asked to wait a little while longer while game sites and game times will have to be adjusted,î he said.

Three practice fields that had originally been scheduled to accommodate football and soccer practice will not be available this fall due to poor growing conditions for the fields this summer.

Soccer practice will take place at the cemetery in the same place as last year and football practice will take place in the fields behind the old high school currently being retrofitted into an elementary school.

Recent information about the condition of the new gym also indicates that volleyball practice will not be held in the new gym until the end of August. It was originally planned to have practices begin in the new gym. Alternate plans have been made for volleyball practices to be held in the gym at the old high school until the new gym is ready.

Plans for how athletes will be transported to the soccer and football fields is still being discussed, says Van Den Boom. ìWhether it be jogging them all down there or other options.... Soccer has always gotten themselves down there,î he said.

All of the varsity games for soccer and football were originally planned to take place at the American Legion field, so those scheduled games will not have to be adjusted. ìWe knew that the main field (located at the track) would not be ready.î

Junior varsity games for soccer and football may experience some rescheduling, however.

One change that spectators will notice at the Legion Field this fall is that the bleachers have been taken out because they do not meet safety requirements of a new law state law.

All volleyball games are scheduled at the new gym.

For winter sports, gymnastics and wrestling will have their own practice area in the adjoining all purpose gym. A special curtain will divide the two sports as they practice. Bleacher seating has been added to the gymnastics side of the gym to accommodate spectators during meets.

Wrestling mats will be moved from the mat storage area to the new gym to accommodate the wrestling meets.

Basketball games and practices will be held in the new gym which is twice as large as the gym in the old high school.

The baseball diamond is scheduled to be ready in the spring for boys baseball depending on how the field fares this fall said Van Den Boom.

The track is also suppose to be ready. However, no meets have been scheduled at the new track. Van Den Boom says he is waiting to see lights put up and the surface laid down before he schedules track meets. In case it is ready, he has asked a few schools to keep some dates open for meets in Caledonia for last minute scheduling. He added that hosting a track meet takes many volunteers, and starting out small may be a way to ease the community in successfully hosting its first few meets.

Athletics will also have a weight room inside the school versus the weight room that has been used outside the old high school.

All practices for fall sports begins Monday, August 12.

Van Den Boom said he is very excited about the new athletic facilities. Currently, he, Interim Superintendent Jim Tool and Community Education Director Nancy Runningen will be working on a policy for use of the facilities.

Top of Page