Practice field needed for WHS teams

Published 7:45 pm Wednesday, October 8, 2014

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS SOGGY SOCCER: Washington striker Kyle Hodges bolts up the field during a match against West Craven last week.

DAVID CUCCHIARA | DAILY NEWS
SOGGY SOCCER: Washington striker Kyle Hodges bolts up the field during a match against West Craven last week.

Washington head football coach Sport Sawyer has earned the right to have his football field pristinely manicured, lines painted to perfection, before every Friday night football game.

But that is not always possible. A few raindrops 24 hours prior to a game can turn the soft green turf into a patchy mud pit. And for head coach Kim Kozuch’s soccer team, which traditionally holds its matches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, churning up the field is simply part of the game.

Therefore, use of the football field is limited to just twice a week by the soccer team and once a week by the football team, which has its own expansive practice area east of the stadium, tucked away behind the parking lot and the tree line.

The other three days of the school week, the soccer team — girls and boys, depending on the season — must find an alternative, makeshift location to practice in an athletic complex that seems to have everything — softball, baseball, tennis, track and field (even disc golf) — crammed into a small alcove behind the school.

The teams have resorted to holding practices in the baseball field’s outfield, which does not help the state of that sport’s playing ground. Or, in the spring when baseball and softball are in season, the girls’ soccer team gets pushed back behind the softball field in a confined area that resembles a swamp when it rains.

Almost all of Washington’s sports teams have a comfortable place to practice, except for the boys’ soccer team and head coach Ed Rodriguez’s girls’ soccer team. And football aside, there isn’t another squad more deserving.

Following a 18-2-2 finish in 2013, the boys’ team is having another great campaign in 2014, boasting a 12-4-1 record and is in the midst of a 10-game win streak. As for the girls, well, their state championship run was plastered all over the front page of the Daily News last spring, deservingly so.

Not giving two of the best teams at Washington High School a proper place to practice seems a bit unproductive. A new practice field would not only be an excellent way to reward a team and its coaching staff for a job well done, but also give future teams the opportunity to prepare for their games in the most efficient and respectful way possible.

For years, the 6.5-acre lot located just a few yards away from the auxiliary entrance to Washington High School has remained vacant. It’s big enough to house more than just a soccer field and is relatively accessible to the parking lot.

The plot of land is listed at $89,500, which is a lot for a school’s budget, but that’s not to say alumni wouldn’t be interested in getting involved.

There are also other options that could be possibilities for the high school, like renting the land from the owner.

Acquiring or renting the land adjacent to Washington High School would be well worth the investment and be a welcomed addition to the Pam Pack’s home.