Officials to Mull Request for Winter Track at Pleasantville HS
A group of parents and students urged the Pleasantville Board of Education this week to consider adding winter track and field to the slate of existing winter sports.
Several parents and one track athlete outlined the multiple benefits a winter team would have for Pleasantville High School at Tuesday’s board meeting. They also vowed to raise funds privately if the district couldn’t pay for another sport that wasn’t included in the current year’s budget.
Pleasantville has a fall cross-country team and spring track team, but is one of just four schools in Section 1 that doesn’t have a winter program.
One speaker, Joe Bennetti, who has a son on the track team, said that having the winter squad would make the team more competitive against schools that have a year-round program. Pleasantville’s track and field team doesn’t practice until mid-March while other schools train the entire winter.
Bennetti also said that by adding track to the slate of winter sports it would give more students the chance to compete. During the 2011 season, 265 athletes competed in fall athletics throughout the school while 243 athletes competed in spring programs. However, during the winter, only 94 athletes were part of a school team, according to Bennetti’s research.
Bennetti said in some cases a year-round team could enhance a student’s chances to earn an athletic scholarship.
“In fact, not running year-round can hinder their ability for qualifying for financial aid,” Bennetti said.
Currently 32 athletes have pledged to participate in a winter program. One of those athletes, Joseph Bennetti, said he performs better academically during athletic seasons. He also said he would improve his athletic performance if he were running competitively year-round.
“Though I do continue my training in the off season, my training would be so much more efficient and my running would increase and improve so tremendously if we had a track and field program for the winter,” Joseph Bennetti said.
While there is interest for a winter track team, hurdles exist. Before officials consider adding the sport to the winter docket, Section 1 would have to be willing to add Pleasantville as a competitive team. Athletic Director John Bauerlein said he has a “good feeling” Section 1 would be able to add the Panthers track team to its existing winter schedule.
Funds to pay for the team could also be another problem and is most likely the deciding factor whether the board of education would approve winter track and field. The cost for the team would be between $15,000 to $17,000, Bauerlein said.
Although the school district has a surplus this year it would be difficult to allocate funds for another team that hadn’t been planned. In that case, parents who spoke Tuesday night said they’d be willing to raise the money privately.
Board President Lois Winkler gave no indication on how trustees would decide. The board will likely discuss the issue at its next meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the high school library and media center.
