Parents, coaches, staff and students gathered together to discuss changes and expectations for next year’s athletics department on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m.,
One key topic was the upgrades to facilities. Using money from ticket sales and fundraisers, the athletics department will update its athletic spaces over the summer, especially in the stadium.
“I’m most excited about the outdoor stadium bathrooms being built,” principal Dr. Amy Goodloe said. “I think it’s not only going to benefit our students and spectators, but also the community because our facilities get used a lot for events.”
The department will also replace the turf in the stadium as soon as the spring season ends. This will benefit football, lacrosse and soccer athletes by giving them a new playing field.
“Our turf looks old and is so beat up,” Director of Student Activities Brendan Shapiro said. “We’re excited to have new turf up there for our athletes.”
Goodloe thinks that all of these upgrades to the outdoor stadium will help CHS expand sports to more viewers. In return, this can help other sports gain funding.
“[The stadium upgrades) will be the first step, and then we can transition to getting additional turf and auxiliary fields for other sports since we use off-campus fields right now for practices,” Goodloe said.
New mats for the wrestling team will also be installed over the summer. According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, allowing mats to become damaged creates a health and safety risk. Replacing them when needed is important.
The athletics department gets some of its funds for these projects from ticket sales and concessions over the year. It gets the rest from the Athletic Booster Club.
“The county only pays for two things: buses and officials,” Shapiro said. “The rest, we have to get ourselves.”
The CHS Athletic Booster Club, composed of parents and coaches, helps with fundraising and events. Parents take on many different roles including raising funds, managing social media and volunteering. Students, parents and local businesses can support by becoming members or sponsors.
“There are different levels of engagement,” Shapiro said. “You can just become a Booster member. You buy a pass, that money goes into the Booster Club’s cap and you use that Booster pass to get into home games. You can also get involved in leadership and help set priorities.”
JV girls lacrosse coach Kristina Plaugher notices differences from other years and hopes it will continue.
“I love seeing the continous growth that’s different from previous years,” Plaugher said. “Community engagement can help us grow and advance our program.”
