Calhoun Sports Boosters Update

Those new athletic fields in Merrick will have to wait.

In its final report to the Board of Education last month, the District Athletic Fields Committee asked that the installation of new fields at all three district high schools be included in the district's five-year plan of capital improvement projects.  It was further acknowledged though, that due to the cost involved, installation should not be a priority in the near future.

Athletic fields were one of the subjects touched on at last night's meeting of the Calhoun Sports Boosters.

The new fields would be made from synthetic turf, which can handle more wear and tear, and could last up to a dozen years. The fields in question are at Calhoun, Kennedy, and Mepham high schools, and are used for football, soccer and lacrosse.

"The [Calhoun] field is overused," says booster club co-president Joe Tobia. 

According to Tobia, the current, natural grass field is used by the football team, four soccer teams, and four lacrosse teams, factoring in varsity and JV action.

"The field doesn't have time to rest, grass can't possibly grow...it's passable, but needs constant maintenance and it doesn't get what it needs," Tobia says.

It's estimated that the entire cost of the project would be $2.3 million, not the type of expenditure the board is looking to approve in today's economy.

Something that Colts fans have to look forward to this spring are new scoreboards for the baseball and softball teams.  The girls' board will be mounted on the school, while the boys' will stand on its own.

An April dedication ceremony is being planned for the boys' board, which will be dedicated to Ronnie Gies.  Gies was a firefighter who lost his life on 9/11, and whose sons played ball for Calhoun.

The booster club is also looking to set a date in mid-June for its annual awards dinner.  Thousands of dollars worth of scholarships are handed out at the dinner, more than $3,000 worth raised by the booster club alone.  Alumni donate as well.

The NFL is providing funds for the Tim Davey scholarship, named after a Calhoun grad who died earlier this year.  Davey was the NFL's director of football operations, and a former athletic trainer for the Jets.

The Calhoun Sports Boosters meet the second Tuesday of every month at the high school.  Co-president Charlie Pagano says over the last eight years, fundraising efforts by the club, along with grants handed out by the likes of State Senator Fuschillo, have netted $500,000 for Calhoun sports.

"We've been successful with a limited number of people, there's 1400 kids in the school, we only have 100 members of which maybe a dozen are active," Pagano says.

Other news and notes from the meeting:

• The club currently has a cash balance of more than $28,000.

• The high school 'Battle of the Classes,' cancelled due to snow, will not be rescheduled.

• The club's 7th annual golf outing will be June 29 at Bethpage State Park.  In return for their donations, folks can enjoy a round of golf, a cocktail hour with dinner, and more.  E-mail Chris DiFiglia at codi57@optonline.net for more info.

• Effective this fall, boys and girls volleyball will become a fall sport.  This is a New York State mandate so all schools can compete for state titles.

• Calhoun junior track standouts James Panetta and Ava Fitzgerald were given their 'Athlete of the Month' awards from this past January.

• The next booster club meeting is scheduled for Tuesday April 13 at 7:30 p.m., in the 2nd floor faculty room at Calhoun High.