Riverside benefiting from new amenities

Riverside made a playoff run in 2013 with its second straight seven-win season. Head coach Dave Bors’ fourth year with the Beavers looked like the start of consistent success in Painesville Township.

Instead, 2013 is Riverside football’s most recent peak.

Four operating levies for the district were rejected between 2010 and 2012, which forced the district to slash $7 million from its budget.

As a result, busing was reduced to near the state minimum requirement. Elementary gym, music and art programs were reduced, and pay-to-play fees enumerated into the thousands for families with multiple multi-sport athletes.

On the football field, Bors watched the program’s numbers fall, resources dwindle and losses accumulate.

But as Bors begins his eighth season, he and the Beavers are again optimistic for the future of Riverside football — and athletics.

Voters approved a 4.9mill levy on May 2, the first operating levy approved since 2004, which restored busing for all kindergarten through 12th-grade students, programs into elementary schools and cut pay-to-play fees to $200 at the high school level.

Fundraising efforts also allowed Riverside to lay a new turf on Riverside Field, renovate the locker room and upgrade the weight room.

As the 2017 season begins, the Beavers are keen to validate the community’s investment in its youth.

“It’s the world,” Bors said. “First of all, the kids are the future of the community, and for the community to back them with supporting the levy and the bond issue, there’s definitely a buzz.”

The impact of the levy’s approval, by a 51-vote margin, and recent fundraising isn’t lost on senior quarterback Nate Sleek, junior receiver Nick Mlakar and the rest of Riverside’s student-athletes.

Funding from a sponsorship with Lake Health and money from the school’s Permanent Improvement fund allowed for the turf field. The Beavers’ locker room was renovated with donations from the Gridiron Club, and the Permanent Improvement fund also funded upgrades to the Athletic Performance Center.

“It’s real exciting just seeing the community is as dedicated to our school and the team as everyone else is,” Mlakar said. “It’s just great because we’ve had a lot of those that failed to pass. It was great to see everybody coming together under that Riverside name.”

The upgraded amenities have Riverside’s football players excited.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Sleek said. “We’re ready to get out on that field, too.”

The turf’s utility will also bring value in lowermaintenance costs, increased playability and fewer injuries to the Beavers’ student-athletes than the previous natural grass field.

“It’s definitely going to be better,” Sleek said. “Even playing on the field, I’m not going to say it makes you a better player. But you’re better at making cuts and things like that.”

Riverside has yet to play on its new home turf, and breaking it in will deliver added excitement to the Beavers home-opener — the Battle of Painesville on Sept. 8 against Harvey.

“It looks beautiful,” Mlakar said. “It’s really exciting, especially getting into Weeks 9 and 10 when the field usually just mud at that point. It’ll be real nice to play on that.”

Part of what drew Bors to Riverside eight years ago was the community’s positivity.

After a few bumps in the road and a recent resurgence, Bors is charged by the support for the district and the future of Riverside athletics.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s called Riverside or ‘Some Town,’ USA, it’s the people that make it great,” Bors said. “This community is filled with a lot of great people as evidenced by the kids on our team coming from a lot of great families. The community’s been very supportive, we love it.”