Sports Complex badly needed

High school is a time when kids try to figure out who they are, and what they want to be. They need opportunities to succeed – the more the better.
Sports help them prepare for life. Kids learn to set goals and then work — day in, day out — to achieve them.
Students at Scotts Valley High don’t have the same opportunities as students at other high schools because their athletic facilities were never finished. But the efforts of a local fundraising group are solving the problem.
In Scotts Valley, if a student wants to be on the track team and compete in the high jump or shot put or pole vault, the high school does not have those facilities. There is a dirt track, but it is not suitable for sprinters to practice or to host meets. If a student wants to be a swimmer or diver, there is no pool.
To practice, swimmers and track athletes must go to San Lorenzo Valley High, 15 to 25 minutes away, depending on traffic. I have two sons at Scotts Valley High. My youngest runs track. Along with my wife and carpooling friends, we can manage to get him there and back. But some parents can’t.
My oldest son wanted to play water polo, but because of the logistics of practicing at SLV, not enough kids signed up so there was no water polo team.
Needing to drive to another school puts Scotts Valley High athletes at a disadvantage. Those who want to excel need to be able to train all school year, after or before school. The current arrangement makes it hard.
What caused this problem?
It’s a sad story that starts with construction missteps when the school was being built in the 1990s. To fix the most critical defects, the district sued the contractors and was awarded $11.2 million, which was used for reconstruction. But there wasn’t enough to finish the sports facilities.
Scotts Valley High is relatively new. Most other schools built their sports facilities decades ago when money for education was abundant. Scotts Valley High was completed in 1999. A year later, high tech imploded and took the state economy with it. Ever since then, school funding has been tight.
“For most of the time Scotts Valley High has been open, school funding has been challenging, but this offers us a fresh start,” said Allison Niday, campaign chair of the Scotts Valley Sports Complex group, which has raised over $1 million in donations and commitments.
The first phase includes an all-weather track, turf playing field and bleacher seating. That phase will not only benefit the track and football teams, but also enable lacrosse and soccer teams to practice and host games.
Rumors had circulated that the first phase would be done for next school year, but Niday said it is too early to say.
The second phase includes a 25-yard, 10-lane pool that meets swim team and water polo requirements. The total project is expected to cost $10 million and will come from private donations, Niday said.
Private donations helped pay for the magnificent facilities at San Lorenzo Valley High, most notably from former San Francisco Giants slugger Pat Burrell, who attended SLV as a freshman before transferring to Bellarmine Prep in San Jose.
Private donors are now stepping up in Scotts Valley. “The new facilities won’t just benefit student-athletes; they will also be available for community use, providing local residents top-notch athletic facilities,” Niday said.
To find out more or make a tax-deductible contribution, go to www.supportsvsc.org