Opinion: Imperative STHS improve athletic conditions
To the community,
As a coach of youth athletics at the elementary and middle school ages, for over 25 years, coaching Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, Bobby Sox Softball, Soccer and as a previous head coach of our local ski resort, Heavenly D-Team, I have had the pleasure to witness firsthand how important and instrumental athletic programs have benefited the development of the youth in our community.
As a member of several of these youth athletic organizations, board of directors and a full-time resident of South Lake Tahoe for the past 23 years, I have enjoyed watching the many benefits that these athletic programs have provided thousands of young boys and girls in our community during their very influential years.
The renovation of Viking Bowl to Viking Stadium will complement the recent additions to our local high school campus which have been completed in recent years, and those that are currently under construction today. These projects are making South Tahoe High School a world class academic facility and hopefully it will soon be considered one of the best schools in our state.
The completion of the Viking Stadium renovation plan will not only provide a much needed addition to our local high school campus, it will in turn help promote the city of South Lake Tahoe as more than just a tourist destination.
The renovation of Viking Stadium will prevent many families who may be thinking of leaving our community, because of inferior school facilities, to stay in South Lake Tahoe and allow their children to complete their high school education here as opposed to the various schools in our neighboring communities which currently offer better school and sports facilities.
I unfortunately have seen firsthand many families leave our community and move to Minden, Gardnerville, Carson City, Reno and Sacramento partly because of the condition of the athletic facilities at South Tahoe High School. This new athletic field and stadium will help prevent additional families from moving “off the hill” and also will attract new families to our city and to call South Lake Tahoe their home.
The completion of this renovation project will provide revenue for our school district, our city and in turn provide much needed income to the many small business owners who are currently struggling to stay open. The more businesses that close and the more families that leave South Lake Tahoe, the less revenue this our city obtains.
This facility when completed will attract families and students who participate in other sports programs in neighboring towns. It will allow for other high schools, colleges and possibly professional sports team to come to South Lake Tahoe and use this facility for high altitude training. The stadium could be rented for many different types of sports programs, activities and other events, and in turn bring much needed revenue to the many restaurants, motels and other businesses in our town who are struggling to stay afloat.
Athletics and academics go hand in hand. Athletics promote school and community spirit. For those that attended one of our two “Friday Night Lights” football games last fall, you already know the huge success this was for our high school and for the community of South Lake Tahoe.
If temporary lights on a field mostly covered in mud, without bathrooms in the near vicinity for its spectators, a proper snack bar, bleachers that are rotting and are a safety hazard and without simple access for the disabled, can attract the type of numbers that those two games did, the possibilities that this project when completed could do for our city and our community are incredible.
Over the past few months, many business owners and families have provided financial contributions to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District to assist with the completion of this project.
We have done so as we realize the wonderful impact that this sports facility will have on thousands of youth in the city of South Lake Tahoe for years to come. Creating a place where the students of South Tahoe High School can be proud, a place where the younger boys and girls in our town will look forward to playing sports as they grow up and to provide a school that they look forward to attending, will have immeasurable impact on them, their families and our entire community.
It is mine, the many families and children of South Lake Tahoe who currently play youth sports and the current and future student body of South Tahoe High School sincere hope, that the city of South Lake Tahoe considers this proposal and helps fund and become a part of a project that is certain to benefit all of us who call South Lake Tahoe our home.
Tony Gooding, South Lake Tahoe coach, parent, business owner
Write them a check with your own money, Tony, we can’t afford any of this nonsense right now. When the roads are well maintained, the recreation facilities for the general public are up to date and the city is financially healthy without debt for real estate schemes (the big hole), then, ask again. Right now, we can’t afford it.
Although your artical was well done and your arguments are sound there are always priorities and right now the money is needed elsewhere. I firmly believe in the value of sports but new facilities will not improve athletes.(“no one can win without talent but not everyone can win with it.”)
Totally agree with you Tony. Roads have been a joke forever, you should know how to deal with it by now.
Dear Dumbfounded… Our family has “written a check” for $30K to help this cause. There is money from Measure S that was voted on and approved in the city’s coffers that has not been spent. The improvement of a facility which will help bring revenue to our city and be of benifit to 1000’s of youth for years is not “nonsence”.
Maybe you should reconsider Coach ,write a bigger check with your families cash build a Dome.
I’LL PURCHASE A SEASONAL BOX SEAT.
Once again Tony you are misguided in your approach and delusional about yourself. The reasons STMS&STHS athletics are mostly non-competitive and not supported financially in the community is due to three reasons only. #1 is a totally incompetent STHS Athletic Director. How many years has this non caring individual failed to improve athletics and conditions? 15+? How many years has the AD not been involved in our youth programs? How many years has this AD allowed untrained, un qualified, loud mouth coaches like you Tony, to ruin our youth programs with your personal drama, causing these kids to quit before they get to the HS? #2 Tony you are the prime example of what a poor youth coach can do to a community, you are a cancer to youth athletics in South Tahoe as seen in your ridiculous involvement with Pop Warner last season resulting in your BAN from the fields by the Sagebrush Empire League. Your ridiculous on field antics that resulted in your suspension from Little League in 09’ season. I don’t know what feedback you have bought and paid for, but parents are complaining and kids are not playing because of your behavior and the drama you drag around with you!
#3 Until our community parents start demanding the school board take action at the HS level with an adequate AD, you will continue to get bad coaches, lack of real support and kids will continue to not play. A proper HS AD would insist on providing guidance and training to the feeder youth organizations. Our community parents must demand the youth organizations provide top level training to our coaches and not allow unqualified, unfit guys like you Tony, to be around our kids.
These are the reasons that I will not send my kid to STHS and the reason dozens of families in recent years, with highly talented (get a clue Dave!) youth athletes have chosen to attend elsewhere.
Dumbfounded – this town can’t afford not to get this project done, it is the young families that are leaving and taking our future with them.
Coach,
While I agree that youth sports are an important part of growing up, how exactly does the unspent Measure S money figure into this plan to upgrade the STHS facilities? That money is there because voters overwhelmingly indicated (via 2 Gobe polls and voting on Measure S) that they want better cycling infrastructure and that is why that money is there. Somehow, ball sports advocates keep advancing the proposition that money should be used for ball sports instead. Since the restrictive language of Measure S currently limits that money to maintenance of bike trails that mostly haven’t been built due to the economic downturn, it is not being spent. . . . yet. 2009’s ill concieved Measure B attempted to redirect that money to ball fields without input from bicycling advocates or benefit to existing paths. Now a new measure is in the works that would allow some of the maintenance money to be used to address ball sports needs and provide long overdue maintenance for pre Measure S bike paths (multi-use paths actually). If done correctly, this would be a win-win situation for all—-but it will have to be a very carefully crafted measure to garner support from the cycling community. Failure to acknowledge both the deplorable, unsafe condition of our cycling infrastructure as well as cyclings’ proven record of providing economic benefit from becoming a cycling destination will be sure to sink this measure as well.
We are a community in economic disttress and we’ll have to work together to come up with innovative ways to turn this situation around. Most of the bicycling community has expressed it’s willingness to explore how this money can be shared with youth ball sports advocates for the benefit of the entire community. In order for the new measure to pass the smell test however, it will have to demonstrate how it will leverage those funds most effectively to improve our economy and quality of life.
You suggest that a “new athletic field and stadium will help prevent additional families from moving “off the hill” and also will attract new families to our city and to call South Lake Tahoe their home.” I suggest that a more vibrant, stable economy and improved quality of life are the primary ingredients necessary to make that happen. That won’t happen until the job situation improves greatly and jobs won’t materialize until we re-invent our region to take advantage of the burgeoning trend in adventure sports, eco and geo-tourism. Our task is to direct the few available funds toward making that happen. Cycling is a major ingrediant in that recipe that fact has to remain paramount as we procede.
I plan on attending the next meeting of the Community Athletic Coordinating Council this Monday at the ice arena at 5:30 to work on this. Will I see you there?
Yes Tom I plan to attend and also believe that the bicycle and youth sports families need to work together to properly divide the Measure S funds. Bummer the snow shut down the bicyle race today. We were looking forward to watching them go through town.
We have had the pleasure of our two boys being on Coach Tony’s teams over the years. In baseball and football both. He is fair, honest and strives to give every player an equal time on the field.
Unlike the atrocity that occured on one of our son’s team with Coach Durahm last year. Only allowing his son to get the ball and agressively confronting a police man in front of our entire team.
I applaud you Tony for trying to help improve our sports facilities and programs and our community as a whole.
As you stated, new fields, might mean new families in our town which can only help our economy.
Thanks for “going to bat” for our kids. We would welcome and hope to have you as our kids coach again some day!