THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610090143
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: 49 lines
Great Bridge athletes who found themselves redistricted into the Hickory zone may have spent the summer wishing they could stay with the Wildcats.
In a lot of ways, they did.
Tennis, volleyball, field hockey and football players find themselves playing on familiar fields, just wearing new uniforms.
With all the construction involved in a new school, Hickory just wasn't able to develop all of its athletic facilities fully in time for fall sports. Players are scattered throughout the area for practices on a daily basis. One needs a road map to find everybody.
The football team is still practicing at the Great Bridge Middle School North campus. Soon, it will move to a hay field behind the school and use portable classrooms as locker rooms. The practice field is still under construction. At last look, it only lacked light poles, bleachers, goal posts and sod.
Volleyball and field hockey practice at Butts Road Intermediate on Pleasant Valley Road. Actually, the field hockey team has better practice facilities than many Chesapeake schools have enjoyed this season. The tennis team works out at Great Bridge, golf is at Seven Springs and the cross country team trains at Greenbrier Nursery.
While the entire situation could be a headache for athletic director Martin Oliver and the various coaches, everyone seems to take the whole situation in stride.
``Any time you have a new school, you know you are not going to have things on time and things won't be completed,'' Oliver said. ``(Great Bridge athletic director) Wayne Martin has been a big help in allowing teams to use the weight room and stadium.''
Oliver is cautiously optimistic that the gym will be ready in time to house wrestling and boys and girls basketball this winter. However, the spring could present a whole slew of new problems.
``We're really hoping the gym will be ready by winter,'' Oliver said. ``Of course, how well the track and baseball and softball facilities will be . . . I'm sure they'll be finished, but I'm unsure of what shape they'll be in.''
For the most part, the athletes and coaches at Hickory have overcome the negative aspects of the training problems and concentrated on playing sports and having fun.
``The coaches have done a good job, working under adverse and spread-out conditions,'' Oliver said.
The players, the majority of whom were redistricted to Hickory from Great Bridge, have been eased into the transition. For now, they see a little bit of both schools. by CNB