New facilities coming along at high schools
When students at Lodi High and Tokay High get back on campus, things will look quite a bit different, and much of that will be around athletic facilities.
Much of the construction comes courtesy of Measure U, which passed with 65% of the vote on the November 2016 ballot. While most of the $281 million measure went toward upgrading and rebuilding classrooms, some has gone toward athletics.
At Tokay High, the area between the tennis courts and the existing gym is being built into a facility that holds a practice gym, a weight room, two team locker rooms, restrooms and a lobby/concessions area.
“I think they’ve been able to move at a faster pace because there’s no kids on campus, so they were kind of able to expand their footprint to get things done.”
The athletic department currently uses two weight rooms — one nestled among academic classrooms, which limits use to outside of class hours, and one in a shared room with maintenance operations. This will consolidate the two into one larger weight room.
“People will probable think it’s our main gym because it’s right there out front,” said
Michael Holst, Tokay’s Athletic Director.
Another aspect of Measure U building is completed at Tokay — the football stadium’s playing surface and the bleacher project. The measure also provides for a two-story classroom building on the northeast side of campus.
Over at Lodi High, the athletic part of the project has to wait for the extensive classroom rebuild happening on the north end of campus, which provides for one- and two-story classroom buildings with about 50 classrooms and six science labs. Once that is complete, 35 portable classrooms will be removed, and new locker room, pool, and concessions facilities will go in near Meehleis Gym.
“I don’t know when ground will be broken, but architectural plans have been done,” said Lodi High Athletic Director Robert
Winterhalter. “I don’t know where they are as far as the plans being approved by the state, but we’re going through the process of picking out colors and locker sizes.”
Meanwhile, athletes on both campus have been stuck in something of a holding pattern, with conditioning practices still the only kind allowed by San Joaquin County Health Services.
“Groups have been following protocols,” Winterhalter said. “Kids are antsy. They want to compete. The runners want to race, the football players want pads. Everybody’s tired of conditioning.”
Holst, who doubles as Tokay’s head football coach, said he’s seen less antsiness among his players, and more just looking for a concrete answers as to when more will be allowed.
“I think there’s going to have to be a little movement as far as kids back on campus in our district, I don’t think it matter if its full time or a hybrid,” Holst said. “I think if we have boots on the ground and some kids on campus, it’s easier for us.”
Both ADs have kept their eyes on what has happened in states that are allowing athletic contests. Holst said a study out of Wisconsin’s high school and intercollegiate sports indicated that when athletes came up with COVID-19, only 4% of the cases were spread through practice, with the rest coming from family or community.
“So it wasn’t a major source of spread. That was encouraging. We’re waiting on the governor to kick down to county health,” Holst said. “My only hope is we can get guidance so we’re not rushing at the last minute to put things together.”
Winterhalter said whether the planned twoseason athletic year starting in January can be successful depends on the sport, with outdoor sports having an advantage.
“I think some states have done better than others, and again it has to do with the nature of the sports,” Winterhalter said. “I’m looking at Arizona for example, cross country has been able to go forward with very few contractions. With football, it has not been the case.”
He added that indoor sports such as wrestling and basketball could have a tougher time pulling it off.
Holst also said other states have had issues and successes.
“You have to understand that your season might be a roller coaster in that you might lose opponent, and maybe be able to pick something up,” he said. “A buddy of mine coaches in Missouri, and he learned on a Thursday that they lost an opponent, and they picked up an opponent on Friday. So it worked, but they went in with no preparation.”