By Desiree Velazquez
It is a typical Tuesday afternoon for the Varsity cheerleading team as they stroll down to Gym 3. Cheer Captain Maddie Lord, Div. 471, directs her team to start bringing out the mats to the hallway where they will practice. They choose a spot far down the hall away from the track team to avoid getting run over.
With the winter sports coming to an end and spring sports just beginning, conflict over hallway space and gym time arises.
The cheer team rarely gets gym space besides on Saturday mornings.
“I honestly think it is so unfair. Even when its in season we never get a gym to practice in,” Lord said.
Every year before the Spring, Fall, and Winter seasons start coaches meet to figure out how the practice spaces will be split up. Mr. Hofman, athletic director, tries to be as fair as possible. However, with the weather not cooperating with spring sports it has been harder to deal with gym space.
“Everyone has to learn to share, especially since the weather has been terrible lately,” Hofman said.
Lord has to work with what is given to her and her teammates. The cheer team has had to accommodate more than one team, working around both wrestling and track.
“I get we’re not a priority sport, but maybe if we had an actual place to practice we’d be better,” Lord said.
Barb Carabio, cheer coach acknowledges the privileges the team has been given compared to previous years.
“This is tough because I do not want to rock the boat, and we have been luckier than previous years. When I first started we didn’t even have mats,” Carabio said.
Every team is given a time slot of how long they are allowed to be in the gym or even hallway, however many teams do not follow this rule.
“Sometimes the sport before us doesn’t leave right at 5:30,” Carabio said, “Other sports have taken precedence over us and I’ve grown use to it.”
Not only do some teams have to deal with space issues but also other people in the hallway.
The track team has been given the third floor to practice in because of the large number of athletes on the team, and because the third floor is the least crowded.
“Track!” Yasser Arrocha, Div. 450, yells down hallways H to O to warn people from getting run into or shoved by track runners.
This happens when many students are still walking in the middle of the hallways, leaving insufficient room for runners to pass.
“We train on the third floor and having people in the middle of the hallway can mess up our pace,” Arrocha said.
Arrocha at times has found himself moving people to the side when they do not listen.
“The most I do is scream ‘track!’ which is a pretty hard to do during an intense workout,” Arrocha said. “If you don’t move, you’ll probably get violently pushed against the lockers, which I’ve been forced to do.”
The baseball and softball teams have also had to practice more at Lane at the beginning of the Spring season. Horner Park recently notified both teams that they will not be able to play on either field until April 15 due to poor field conditions associated with the weather. Softball coach Devin Miller, is looking forward to having Horner Park available to practice on soon.
“That is the day we’re aiming for to get on the field,” Miller said, “I’m sure if the weather gets warmer consistently [it will happen].”
Many teams have been trying their luck with finding space in Lane stadium. The lacrosse team has been able to practice in the stadium their opening weeks of the season because the full track team was not yet practicing there. Still, the lacrosse team is restricted to the south end of the field because the girls soccer team practices on the north end.
Connor Mcdermott, Div. 465, finds it hard to get the full practice in that the lacrosse team needs because of the lack of space.
“If we had the proper facilities we would be able to get everything done that we need to work on,” Mcdermott said.
Despite the crowded practice areas, the Spring teams continue to work hard with the space they have.
“We are grateful for what we are given, and plan on working hard even though we don’t have everything we need,” McDermott said.
