The construction around McIntosh mainly affected two spring sports: baseball and tennis. Baseball received a new field while tennis got new courts, allowing the baseball team to practice and host more games from home. For tennis, it will be their first time hosting a home game.
“We’ll have a home court too, so we’ll have people from the school that can come support us,” senior tennis player Arya Khimani said.
Their practices now look different with courts in the backyard of McIntosh. The team alternates between the court and the weight room to maximize their time on campus.
“I hope we can practice more so we can get better, because before, like last year and the years before, we only had like one practice a week, and now we can practice like every day. We can do workouts and stuff. So hopefully that will improve the team,” Khimani said.
Before construction, the tennis team had to travel to a local off-site tennis center in order to practice. With buses and cars picking up students at the end of the school day, the traffic was often a hurdle.
“[Now] we don’t have to travel to the tennis center. The traffic is crazy,” junior tennis player, Sophia Nam said.
The baseball team is experiencing a similar sense of relief. For the players and coaches, the convenience of the new field has changed the team’s daily schedule and ability to train together.
“Honestly, just being able to walk out of class and walk straight down there is a huge advantage. We’re able to start practice earlier. We’re able to get a lot more done before it gets dark outside. And just having everybody in one location, in one spot, has been a huge impact, because we’re able to practice together. We’re able to get a lot more done during practice,” baseball coach Avery Roth said.
While the convenience is high, the new facilities still have a few starting issues.
“I like the backdrop out to the forest instead of the school but our bullpens are awful because we don’t have lights and they’re always flooded. And from the stands, you can’t see first base. Other than that, I like the field,” senior Jon Lewis said.
Despite these problems, Roth remains positive about these new improvements.
“The guys are loving the new field. They love the way that it looks. They love the way it plays. And their energy about it is tremendous, because they’re just excited, just as much as we are that we’re actually playing on a new field, in our own field,” Roth said.
Regarding the technical issues like the bullpens and visibility, the athletic department is already on the case.
“Yes, we do have plans to adjust. We’re working closely with construction right now to try to get lighting in the bullpens, as well as trying to figure out a way to help with the lights, the glare from the LED lights that we got,” Roth said.
