Post by DECKS on Dec 18, 2006 1:47:27 GMT -5
Athletes cope with 3rd-string facilities
On the field, Independence finds glory, but in the locker room, rust
DAVID SCOTT
dscott@charlotteobserver.com
The Patriots' six straight state championships and 107-game win streak has drawn attention to the Mint Hill school. More will come Saturday, when Independence plays for another state title, this time against Durham Riverside at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium.
But Independence has come this far with athletics facilities that lag behind virtually every other CMS school.
"We're a laughingstock," football coach Tom Knotts said. "Every time I go somewhere around the state, somebody asks, `How do you work there?' "
Some examples:
• The lower level of the school's 39-year-old gymnasium, where offices, locker rooms and storage areas are, is cramped and dilapidated.
• The gym has no central air conditioning. Although that is not unique to CMS gyms -- nine of CMS's other high schools also lack air conditioning in their gyms' playing areas -- almost all the rest of Independence's building is also without cooling.
• The weight room has no air conditioning and inadequate ventilation.
• The training room is a trailer.
• Wooden bleacher planks on the visitors' side of the stadium routinely need to be replaced.
Said CMS Associate Superintendent Guy Chamberlain: "(Independence) may be the worst conditions we have. Anything on a campus that could hurt a kid in a varsity sport or (physical education) class, we focus on very quickly. But I'm strapped for money. A lot of what we do is mostly Band-Aids."
Replacing and renovating athletics facilities is a small part of CMS's focus on addressing overcrowded and aging schools.
This week, CMS released a 338-item list of construction and renovation needs that would cost almost $2.4 billion. The only athletics items among the top 40 needs -- those most likely to be included in the next bond referendum -- were a new stadium at West Mecklenburg (ranked 27th) and a new track at Olympic (28th).
Individual renovations at Independence, including heating and air conditioning for the gym and upgrades to the football stadium, ranked further down the list. A replacement gymnasium for Independence was not listed.
Fixes nixed through the years
Chamberlain said there have been attempts to improve conditions at Independence.In 1997, a schoolwide face-lift was planned. Included were a gym and a classroom building, as well as renovations for the administration and other buildings.
But money from a bond package grew tight. The classroom building was built and some renovations were made, but the new gym was never constructed.
In 2004, a CMS athletic fields and facilities study recommended a renovation and improvements package at Independence at a cost of $6.14 million. That was the highest figure among six older CMS high schools in the study. Included were a new gym, a football field house and a soccer practice field, as well as renovations to the stadium, tennis courts, and baseball and softball fields.
Chamberlain said Independence gymnasium improvements -- along with recommendations for other high schools -- were included in a $427 million school bond package rejected by voters last year.
"We've listened to feedback, and some of it says we shouldn't be building new gymnasiums when we should be building new classrooms," Chamberlain said. "Of course, they're forgetting that during the day, a gymnasium is a classroom."
Chamberlain said 5 percent to 10 percent of CMS's annual maintenance budget of about $19 million usually goes to athletics facilities. Some renovations are routine. Basketball courts are sanded and resurfaced regularly. Bleachers are inspected annually and replaced if necessary.
Money from that maintenance budget can't be earmarked for major renovations or new buildings, and donations from booster clubs aren't enough to cover the price of major improvements.
"There isn't much in discretionary funds for athletics," Chamberlain said. "It's generally for an emergency circumstance. In the absence of a bond referendum, it doesn't get done."
Facilities in disrepair
The Patriots' stadium, which seats 4,000, had its home stands replaced in 2000 with aluminum bleachers. The visitors' side is mostly wooden. As the boards break and crack, they must be replaced.
The Patriots don't have a field house and must dress for football games in the gym. The concession stand, restrooms and ticket booth are inadequate, according to the 2004 facilities assessment.
The lower level of Independence's gym is a musty maze of tight hallways and small rooms. Old desks line the walls of the men's coaches office. Missing light covers on the ceiling expose the glare of fluorescent bulbs. The office is the only room in the building with air conditioning, a decades-old window unit.
Next door is a small room with a washer and dryer, both almost 30 years old and with doors that do not close properly.
Around the corner is a room with a single toilet and a rusty shower, a facility shared by the school's eight male and two female coaches and physical education teachers. Two urinals are broken.
The weight room is used not only by teams but also by students in weight-lifting classes.
Two fans struggle to move air through the room, which has no other ventilation. Knotts breaks up groups lifting weights into small sizes, hoping to make the air less stuffy. Mirrors quickly fog up when players begin workouts.
"There's so much going on in there that you're not able to go hard with the heat," said Patriots cornerback T.J. Drakeford, a senior. "At a certain point, it becomes nasty. When it's warm outside, it's hotter in here than it is out there."
The shortcomings aren't limited to the gymnasium and stadium. Independence's softball field is on the edge of campus and is served by a portable toilet, one electrical outlet and no running water.
"Morally, that's wrong, with females out there," said Teresa Oliver, an Independence parent and volunteer.
`We're not asking for much'
The Patriots' football success has reached such dimensions that it has been featured in Sports Illustrated and on Fox Sports South.
"We're representing Charlotte and CMS the best way we know how," Drakeford said. "We're not asking for much, just to be paid back a little bit."
Said Knotts: "I did get my feathers ruffled over the lack of air in the weight room. But I've been treading kind of lightly because I was afraid it would get closed down. Somebody might say, `If it's that hot, you can't use it.'
"I've just decided not to worry about it. We'll work with what we've got."
www.charlotte.com
On the field, Independence finds glory, but in the locker room, rust
DAVID SCOTT
dscott@charlotteobserver.com
The Patriots' six straight state championships and 107-game win streak has drawn attention to the Mint Hill school. More will come Saturday, when Independence plays for another state title, this time against Durham Riverside at Duke's Wallace Wade Stadium.
But Independence has come this far with athletics facilities that lag behind virtually every other CMS school.
"We're a laughingstock," football coach Tom Knotts said. "Every time I go somewhere around the state, somebody asks, `How do you work there?' "
Some examples:
• The lower level of the school's 39-year-old gymnasium, where offices, locker rooms and storage areas are, is cramped and dilapidated.
• The gym has no central air conditioning. Although that is not unique to CMS gyms -- nine of CMS's other high schools also lack air conditioning in their gyms' playing areas -- almost all the rest of Independence's building is also without cooling.
• The weight room has no air conditioning and inadequate ventilation.
• The training room is a trailer.
• Wooden bleacher planks on the visitors' side of the stadium routinely need to be replaced.
Said CMS Associate Superintendent Guy Chamberlain: "(Independence) may be the worst conditions we have. Anything on a campus that could hurt a kid in a varsity sport or (physical education) class, we focus on very quickly. But I'm strapped for money. A lot of what we do is mostly Band-Aids."
Replacing and renovating athletics facilities is a small part of CMS's focus on addressing overcrowded and aging schools.
This week, CMS released a 338-item list of construction and renovation needs that would cost almost $2.4 billion. The only athletics items among the top 40 needs -- those most likely to be included in the next bond referendum -- were a new stadium at West Mecklenburg (ranked 27th) and a new track at Olympic (28th).
Individual renovations at Independence, including heating and air conditioning for the gym and upgrades to the football stadium, ranked further down the list. A replacement gymnasium for Independence was not listed.
Fixes nixed through the years
Chamberlain said there have been attempts to improve conditions at Independence.In 1997, a schoolwide face-lift was planned. Included were a gym and a classroom building, as well as renovations for the administration and other buildings.
But money from a bond package grew tight. The classroom building was built and some renovations were made, but the new gym was never constructed.
In 2004, a CMS athletic fields and facilities study recommended a renovation and improvements package at Independence at a cost of $6.14 million. That was the highest figure among six older CMS high schools in the study. Included were a new gym, a football field house and a soccer practice field, as well as renovations to the stadium, tennis courts, and baseball and softball fields.
Chamberlain said Independence gymnasium improvements -- along with recommendations for other high schools -- were included in a $427 million school bond package rejected by voters last year.
"We've listened to feedback, and some of it says we shouldn't be building new gymnasiums when we should be building new classrooms," Chamberlain said. "Of course, they're forgetting that during the day, a gymnasium is a classroom."
Chamberlain said 5 percent to 10 percent of CMS's annual maintenance budget of about $19 million usually goes to athletics facilities. Some renovations are routine. Basketball courts are sanded and resurfaced regularly. Bleachers are inspected annually and replaced if necessary.
Money from that maintenance budget can't be earmarked for major renovations or new buildings, and donations from booster clubs aren't enough to cover the price of major improvements.
"There isn't much in discretionary funds for athletics," Chamberlain said. "It's generally for an emergency circumstance. In the absence of a bond referendum, it doesn't get done."
Facilities in disrepair
The Patriots' stadium, which seats 4,000, had its home stands replaced in 2000 with aluminum bleachers. The visitors' side is mostly wooden. As the boards break and crack, they must be replaced.
The Patriots don't have a field house and must dress for football games in the gym. The concession stand, restrooms and ticket booth are inadequate, according to the 2004 facilities assessment.
The lower level of Independence's gym is a musty maze of tight hallways and small rooms. Old desks line the walls of the men's coaches office. Missing light covers on the ceiling expose the glare of fluorescent bulbs. The office is the only room in the building with air conditioning, a decades-old window unit.
Next door is a small room with a washer and dryer, both almost 30 years old and with doors that do not close properly.
Around the corner is a room with a single toilet and a rusty shower, a facility shared by the school's eight male and two female coaches and physical education teachers. Two urinals are broken.
The weight room is used not only by teams but also by students in weight-lifting classes.
Two fans struggle to move air through the room, which has no other ventilation. Knotts breaks up groups lifting weights into small sizes, hoping to make the air less stuffy. Mirrors quickly fog up when players begin workouts.
"There's so much going on in there that you're not able to go hard with the heat," said Patriots cornerback T.J. Drakeford, a senior. "At a certain point, it becomes nasty. When it's warm outside, it's hotter in here than it is out there."
The shortcomings aren't limited to the gymnasium and stadium. Independence's softball field is on the edge of campus and is served by a portable toilet, one electrical outlet and no running water.
"Morally, that's wrong, with females out there," said Teresa Oliver, an Independence parent and volunteer.
`We're not asking for much'
The Patriots' football success has reached such dimensions that it has been featured in Sports Illustrated and on Fox Sports South.
"We're representing Charlotte and CMS the best way we know how," Drakeford said. "We're not asking for much, just to be paid back a little bit."
Said Knotts: "I did get my feathers ruffled over the lack of air in the weight room. But I've been treading kind of lightly because I was afraid it would get closed down. Somebody might say, `If it's that hot, you can't use it.'
"I've just decided not to worry about it. We'll work with what we've got."
www.charlotte.com