Games can’t go on until cracks in subfloor are fixed
Athletics are a life lesson, part of the overall educational experience for students, and one lesson is that sometimes things do not go according to the best-laid plans. Sometimes you face a problem and have to overcome the obstacles
Fox Lane was hoping to finish off a construction project on the high school gymnasium to have a brand new gym floor installed over the summer and ready for use in the upcoming school year
However, when the old floor was raised to get ready to install the new one, the work crew found cracks in the foundation. Now, Adam Lodewick, director of health, physical education and athletics for the district is hoping for the best, trying to remain optimistic as the engineers determine the best possible solutions to the problem
“It’s what we teach our athletes, control the controllable, and the uncontrollable you roll with it and do the best you can,” Lodewick said. “This is out of our control and we’re doing the best we can. We’re waiting to hear back from the engineers to determine the severity and figure out the best possible solution.”
Initial inspections of the problem found significant cracks that need to be addressed before installing the new gym floor and making it available for use. As reported in The Recorder last week, the problem was revealed at the Bedford Central Board of Education meeting on July 15. The architect for the project estimated that the gym could be offline for a year, but engineers are currently doing forensic tests to determine what can be done
A logistical nightmare
For Lodewick and the Athletic Department, it presents a logistical nightmare for a sports program with limited facilities available in the district
The high school gym is busy all day long, during the day for physical education classes, and then all afternoon into the evening for interscholastic athletics practices and games. Even on weekends it is usually busy all day on Saturday
Scheduling is a constant juggling act trying to work out varsity, junior varsity and modified schedules for boys and girls teams. Lodewick also has to take into consideration their opponents schedules and officials schedules for each game, as well as transportation, if the Foxes have to play more away games and find alternative facilities for practices
The first step is the upcoming volleyball season with both boys and girls teams sharing the high school gym facility
Schedules are set
“Our biggest concern right now is that the fall schedules were already set,” Lodewick said. “The best case scenario is that it doesn’t affect us, but we have to be proactive and look at other spaces to have a back up plan. We’re looking into different locations and more weekend and nighttime practices. Everything is still an option. Regarding volleyball, we are in the process of looking at alternatives, including games at the middle school when possible, but we want to have as little impact as possible on the modified teams that already use that facility.”
Luckily, volleyball is the only fall sport competed indoors with most athletes outside on the playing fields, but the winter season will present a different challenge if a quick solution cannot be found
Winter is basketball season for both boys and girls, as well as wrestling season. A Friday night boys varsity basketball game would often draw a large crowd that would not fit in the middle school gym
Fox Lane boys varsity coach Mike Tomassi played for the Foxes and he knows what it feels like to play in front of the home crowd. It is a thrill you always remember, but Tomassi feels his team will be ready to adjust to whatever situation presents itself in November for the start of basketball season
Just happy to play
“Obviously, the home court advantage in front of your fans is a great atmosphere to have, but we’re just happy every chance we get to play basketball as a team,” said Tomassi. “I coached during COVID and we were grateful for every opportunity we had to get on the court. Things happen, bumps in the road, it’s unfortunate, but it’s not like it’s anybody’s fault. Wherever we play, we’re happy as long as we can play basketball.”
