Central athletes have a new school, but not new fields

On the first official day for fall practices for Missouri High Schools, the new home was looking a lot like the old home for Central High School athletes.

Despite a sparkling new complex on Silver Springs Road that will welcome students for the first time Sept. 3, only the Central volleyball squad will call the new site home this fall.

On Monday, football, cross country, boys soccer and girls tennis all practiced at the old high school, which is being transformed into the junior high.

Heavy spring rains set back work on many of the outdoor facilities at the new campus, which will eventually include two softball diamonds (varsity, junior varsity), two baseball diamonds (varsity, JV), two soccer fields (varsity, JV), tennis courts, track, a football game field and a football practice field.

"We wanted to be in the facility , but that's just going to be impossible," Central athletic director Terry Kitchen said. "The challenge we face is naturally getting out of school here and getting all our athletes over to the old high school."

It's also a challenge for Kitchen, who found himself shuttling back-and-forth between the schools Monday.

"I want to make myself available to my teams, and I like to watch them practice," Kitchen said. "Really, it's kind of a handicap for me too. I'd like to be able to be closer to my teams."

"He's been like a chicken with his head cut off," Central coach Lawrence Brookins smiled. "I feel sorry for him."

Shuttling back and forth

Brookins and his team also will be shuttling throughout the season. Once school starts, players will be bused to the old site. Practices may not start until 45 minutes to an hour after the final bell.

Brookins said later starting times for practices will force the coaches to be more organized in order to get practices in before dark.

"It's going to take a lot of good planning on the coaching staff's part to make this thing work, at least this year," he said.

The softball team will continue to play at Arena Park, while the soccer team may shift its games from Southeast Missouri State University to Shawnee Soccer Park.

The football team faces another adversity with four of its six home games on Thursday nights at Houck Stadium on the campus of Southeast. The school has played Thursday night games in the past, but not nearly as many.

"We'll be the best scouted team in America," Brookins said. "Every college coach that wants to recruit here will be able to catch us, which is good. But that also frees our staff to scout a game or two."

The Thursday games are the result of game conflicts with Southeast Missouri State University women's soccer and volleyball. Kitchen said the Thursday games spread Central's fan base too thin, with volleyball and soccer often playing the same night.

It's a situation that won't be remedied for a while since the school is contracted to play at Houck Stadium for the next six years. Kitchen stressed that Central has a good working relationship with Southeast, but in the same breath looks forward to Friday night football at Central.

"My goal one of these days is for us to have a football stadium out here so that we can dictate when we're going to play," he said.

A football stadium is not the immediate priority of the Central athletic department, which has other immediate needs.

Baseball backstops, fencing and sprinkler systems were in the building budget, but the school is relying on donations for other areas, such as restrooms, concession stands, scoreboards, bleachers, press boxes, rubber track, lights and storage areas.

Kitchen said the eight-court tennis facility will be the first to be completed and expects the team to be able to practice and play some of its matches at home this fall. He expects the baseball and softball fields to be available in the spring and is placing emphasis on restrooms and concession stands.

"We still have a ways to go, but I think before its over, the people of Cape Girardeau are going to be very proud of our facility and I think our student body is going to be very proud," Kitchen said. "I think it's going to make you feel good to be a Tiger."

But for this fall, the home of the Tigers is still a bus ride away.

"There's a lot of little road blocks and challenges in front of us," Brookins said. "Most of the kids who are serious, they're not worried about it. They've already resigned themselves to it. W e'll make it work."

Things will be more normal in the winter when the boys and girls basketball teams play their first season in the new gymnasium that seats more than 1,800 fans.

"We want to really send our appreciation to the Cape Girardeau community for backing us up and backing up Cape Girardeau Public Schools and providing us with a facility like this," Kitchen said. " And now it's our job now is take the best care of it we can and improve it too."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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