Renovations at Ypsilanti High School's Shadford Field displace local junior football team
Renovations at Ypsilanti High School’s Shadford Field have not only displaced several of the high school’s athletic teams, but is expected to affect a local youth football team that rents the field.
The Ypsilanti Huron Braves usually use the field for 4 football games annually, making Shadford Field their home stadium. However, the field is currently under renovation as a part of the district’s initiative to improve the athletic fields at various schools.
Parents in the Braves organization took their concerns to the Ypsilanti school board Monday, imploring them to let the team use the field once construction is finished as the organization is finding it difficult to secure a new home for the coming season.
Rosalinda Moore, who works with the organization’s cheerleading program, said the team’s players might remember not being able to play on the field when they’re deciding where to go to high school.
“The kids will get a mentality as they get older and ready to play in high school, they might think, ‘They didn’t want me’ and choose to go to another school district,” she said. “I’d hate to see that happen to the Junior Braves.”
This was the second time the Braves brought their concerns to the board, after Mary King, vice president of administration for the organization, spoke in late June. She told the school board the relationship between the Braves and the district goes back at least 25 years.
King said more than 150 players participate in the junior football league and many go on to play for YHS when they enter high school.
Superintendent Dedrick Martin said talks with the Braves organization are on-going and there was a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with the league president to try and figure out what resolution could be found.
Martin said the YHS lacrosse and soccer teams that were supposed to use Shadford Field in the spring were displaced after construction began. He said the school’s own football teams are banned from using the field until their first game in early September.
The field is currently being leveled out and resurfaced to make it safer, Martin said. When the YHS football teams take the field in the fall, it might not be in perfect shape but it’ll be usable, he said. However, the only way the field will improve is if it continues to go unused and is given time to grow.
“At this time, we’re all trying to make due with a tough situation. It’s really the right thing to do for our field,” Martin said. “We don’t want to have a field out there we’re not proud of and isn’t safe for our athletes.”
The Braves are currently scheduled to play their final game on Shadford Field in late October, according to their website.
School board President David Bates assured members of the Braves organization Monday he did not want to end the district’s association with the program, but for at least this year he couldn’t promise any quick fixes.
Bates said, before the renovation began, there were some flattened and hardened areas on the field near each sideline. He said this could lead to more injuries due to kids being tackled onto cement-like surfaces.
“Our community deserves these programs and those kids deserve a quality playing field,” Bates said. “Grass has a law of its own and as quickly as we can get that field together again, we’re going to put that field underneath you.”
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
sweetdaddy1963
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 11:27 a.m.
Just try and make us change r name! Bring it! the lady who made the high school change their name did not even send her kid to the school.. We r "Brave" it's a word it's a feeling not a thing...
eastsidemom
Sun, Jul 31, 2011 : 11:21 a.m.
there was no "lady" that changed the name...it is a matter of respect. Brave is a racial slur!
treetowncartel
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 3:10 a.m.
I do have one question, how can the Braves be allowed to play there after Ypsi went with the PC mascott a few years back?
eastsidemom
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 11:04 a.m.
rahter...it was not PC it was treating America's first people with respect! The juniors are a separate organization...however I think they should change too!
eastsidemom
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 11:03 a.m.
it was not PC it was treated America's first people with respect! The juniors are a separate organization...however I think they should change too!
DMc3
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 8:52 p.m.
Nanalove1, what does your comment 'children over grass' even mean? In the article it states that David Bates said there were areas of the field that could cause injuries without proper renovations. I can just see it now. A child gets injured and then the YPS are sued over it. That should really help their financial problems. I think the YPS ARE choosing children over grass.
sweetdaddy1963
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 2:12 a.m.
Dm is so lost lol
DMc3
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
braves03, you act as though the Ypsilanti Public Schools owe you and the braves something. The YPS have historically let you use their field and the reason they are not letting you use it now is because it is not usable. It's not like they're saying no just to say no. The article states that even their own sports are not able to use the field (am I right Kyle?). What does the board have to be ashamed of and what do you expect them to do? I'm also not understanding what you mean when you tell the community to step up. If there are so many alumni, then they should all be able to help find a replacement field for this season. EyeHeartA2 offered great suggestions when they mentioned Willow Run and Lincoln. They are both school districts in Ypsilanti as much as the YPS are. Anyway, last I checked the YPS had bigger issues to deal with than football, such as opening a new high school and overcoming a multi-million dollar deficit. I wonder if the many alumni know what's going on with those big school issues. I think you need to realize the braves are not the district's priority right now for good reason.
sweetdaddy1963
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 1:53 a.m.
SU!
sweetdaddy1963
Wed, Jul 27, 2011 : 1:50 a.m.
With new people in charge at YHS they did't even know the braves played there duh! They thought we practice on the field duh! They thought we charge a gate admission duh! So duh! U don't understand what's going on yourself duh! With better communication from the board like at the end of last season we the "Braves" would have made better plans to play else where, after all we've played there for years we could have give really good input on the field, like how about a year round campange to raise funds to put down some real turf. Like I think u need to go walk that field and see the horrible job that YHS done. It needs to be done but done right the first time. Oh the name is Pat...
Nanalove1
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.
Children are like flowers, nourish and feed them, they will blossom...Community support for our children as well as our school district is needed...we can work this out together. The Ypsilanti Junior Braves are a part of the Ypsilanti School district and will be for along time. Children over grass....
braves03
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 7:44 p.m.
I was told that the school purchased dirt and grass seed at the start of the summer. However someone with all of those degrees forgot to put down hay so when it rained, most of the grass seed got washed away. Very smart YHS Board! You need the hay to keep the grass seed in place! These folks should be ashamed of themselves. There are many and I mean many Alumni who have played for the Huron Braves and I wonder if they know what's going on. The community needs this organization and the organization needs the COMMUNITY to step up and let this board know how you feel. For once people, do something to help the kids and not just yourself!
EyeHeartA2
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 5:39 p.m.
Willow Run? Lincoln? Huron? Gabrial Richard? Pioneer? Lot's of possibilities. I hope they get it worked out. The Jr. Braves are great organization.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 4:50 p.m.
I want to congratulate you on achieving what I previous thought was impossible: you have managed to write a story about people watching the grass grow.
Thomas Jones
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 5:21 p.m.
Honestly your miss-spell was more entertaining!!!! hahahaha and if it really matters! the human brain is an amazing machine... 90% of the time normal people would have auto-corrected the error in their mind and moved on. Now that is interesting. another point worth making.... @nn @rbor dot C0M yet again turns something positive into a negative!!! the school is getting a new Stadium for pete- SAKE!!!! The kids will be fine... Hey here's an idea why don't the fine fine staff of @nn @rbor Dot C0M help them find a place!!!!
treetowncartel
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 5:04 p.m.
I feel your pain, and share in your amusement with the article. That being said, as some one who is just commenting, typo's and grammatical errors are quite okay with me.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 4:51 p.m.
*previously we need an edit button - if only for a minute or two after we post.
treetowncartel
Tue, Jul 26, 2011 : 4:27 p.m.
Hmm, the U of M has at least three full size football fields. they can't possibly use them all at once. Maybe the AD can do the right thing here and give a little back to the community, as long as no NCAA rules are violated.