Bellaire High School Teams Relocate to New Fields

As the adage goes: “no pain, no gain.” The Bellaire athletic departments are facing the pain right now, but will reap the rewards in the years to come. With the rebuilding of Bellaire High School underway, the student athletes and coaches face a diverse set of issues with having to relocate practices and games for the next few years.   

The plan is to build where the fields are right now and to move the fields to where the building currently is. For all the outdoor sports teams, this is causing a multitude of problems including having to find new fields and figure out the practice times while accounting for the additional driving time to the new location.  

Every team was responsible for finding their own fields for relocation. The women’s lacrosse team found a field at a church after many months of searching. The team has been facing difficulties involving their new field’s conditions. As senior Michelle Guerra stated, “I think the fields are alright for what we could get so last minute. The grass is pretty thick so it can make it hard to play on,” Guerra said. “But, I definitely miss playing at Bellaire especially since this is my last year on the team.”

There has also been an issue with many of the sports involving the time it takes to get to the fields. This year, buses have been reserved during different periods to bring the football players to and from practice, causing problems with their constricted schedules. Junior Gerardo Ruiz describes his team’s experience with these new time changes: “It has been difficult to get to and from practice.” Ruiz said. “We take a bus to Butler Stadium, which shortens our practice time. We also have to take the bus back and our time to get dressed and shower is shortened. But, on the other hand, the fields we practice at are nicer than our old fields; they are not patchy, and the grass is thicker and well maintained.”

The soccer players, contrarily, have been able to adjust to their new schedule easily. Soccer goalie junior Fatima Rizvi describes her experience of driving arrangements to practice during the last period and after school. “In the beginning, it was a bit difficult to coordinate everyone into different cars and to make sure everyone had a ride, but after a couple of weeks we were able to get there on time and have enough practice time to be able to do what was needed to be done.”

While off campus fields pose some problems, it also has several pros. The field size and field quality has increased for several teams. Rizvi discussed the positive aspects of the new fields for the soccer team. “There is more space for us to practice and do drills that we were not able to do before.” Rizvi said. “I think this year we will be able to accomplish more because of this extra area to run drills and keep our fitness up for the upcoming season. Also, at this field, I have my goals to practice on and I think it is better for me as a goalie. I am able to have a better understanding of my surroundings and it gets me prepared for my games.”

The football players have high hopes for their new field. Ruiz describes his expectations for the new football field. “I hope the new field has turf instead of grass because we do not wants it to  get patchy and dry in the winter and turf also does not experience changes throughout the year.”

Even though the seniors of the women’s lacrosse team will not get to play on the new fields,  they decided to keep their spirits high and make the best of their season. Guerra talked about how the field complications would not affect her attitude at practice or games. “I am really hoping to make some lasting memories that I will carry with me forever.” Guerra said. “This being my last season, I want to still have a great time regardless of the change fields.”

This positivity is seen throughout most of the athletes at Bellaire High School. They realize that the transition to a new school is necessary and this interim time of having to use other fields will have a good outcome.