As the school returns to post-pandemic athletics, changes are being made to Poly’s outstanding facilities. As many students have probably noticed by now, Poly has shut off the current baseball and softball fields to be redone during the winter. The project, which began in June 2020 and hopefully will be finished by April 2022, will include the turfing of the baseball and softball fields and a soccer field in the baseball outfield. The turf will be dual purpose, giving the lacrosse and football teams a new place to train, and providing an area that will be used daily for Middle School sports and P.E. classes. 

The core issue behind the new fields is the lack of drainage in the current area. The accumulation of water underneath the baseball field has been a problem that gets worse and worse as each year goes on and as sunny weather shifts to more rain. “Between second and third base, there’s about five inches of water, so you can’t use the field for about three or four days for P.E. classes,” said Head of Athletics Richard Corso. 

The inability to use the fields for days after rainfall has huge impairments on Poly athletics. Middle School sports and P.E., who use the grass almost every day, either have to deal with the muddy and inconvenient conditions of the fields or find another free space on short notice. Rainfall also hinders many teams’ time and training schedules. 

“We would lose between 25-38 days of training. You can’t workout because of the field. It wasn’t because we didn’t want to or we didn’t have people that wanted to train. We would have to change gears and go do something inside,” Corso said.

Corso said that the project is hoped to be finished by April 1. “We have weather to deal with and we’re hoping for a mild winter so that we can keep the momentum going forward.” Construction has begun quickly, and progress can already be seen on the fields. However, as we approach winter and colder, rainier seasons, construction may become more difficult. 

October to April is a long time to be kept off one of Poly’s main athletic fields. Some teams have already been forced to make difficult changes to their training schedules and locations. For example, the softball team, who previously shared the fields, will begin to use the army base as a venue for pre-season training. 

Corso notes that Poly’s athletic success during the pandemic year has prepared them for the changes needed to transition off the grass until April. “One of the lessons we learned from COVID is that you can still train and you can still be consistent with your training and you can train at a higher level—if you plan for it,” Corso said.