Therewas no end to the bickering in the back seat of the vehicle. Phraseslike “Are we there yet?” or “I have to go to the bathroom,” wereoften heard. What else do you expect on a long drive in a vehiclefull of people and gear?
Was this a family camping trip?
No, just last year’s San Diego State track and field team en routeto practice at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
“It grew old real quick,” said head coach Rahn Sheffield. “Theathletes started arguing because they were cramped in a bus or a vanfor 45 minutes. It was very hard to keep everyone in a positivemental state.”
That scenario will not be repeated this year. The brand new SDSUSports Deck, which sits atop Parking Structure V, will be home tothree Aztecs teams: men’s and women’s soccer and women’s track andfield. The Sports Deck will be dedicated Friday at 3:30 p.m., inbetween the women’s and men’s games.
“It’s a great addition to our university masterplan,” said RickBay, executive director of athletics. “It’s a first-class soccerfield and the track can be used to host major competitions.”
That is, once the bleachers are put in.
While the facility will be dedicated Friday, the 810-personcapacity bleachers won’t be in place until Nov. 1. However, thatamount is hardly enough to draw major competitions. Therefore, whenthe Mountain West Conference Track and Field Championships come tothe Sports Deck May 16-19, there will be temporary bleachersinstalled to increase capacity to 3,000.
That is in stark contrast to the old AzTrack, where the seats werebeat up, lane one was dilapidated and the facility itself wasobsolete. A normal life span of a track is five to six years,according to Sheffield. In 1999, when it was torn down, it was10-years-old.
While the old track was considered state-of-the-art at itsinception, technologies have advanced greatly. Mondo, the companythat installed the track used at the 2000 Olympics in StadiumAustralia, supplied the Sports Deck with its new 100 percent rubbertrack.
Sheffield said the track itself could be one of the fastest aroundbecause of the revamped Mondo surface. The technologically advancedtrack gives for distance runners because of their upright runningmotion. However, it doesn’t give for sprinters because they typicallyrun at an angle, thus reducing drag and decreasing times.
There are nine 48-inch wide lanes — the international standard –which means if there is a world record set, it counts. The likelihoodof that happening depends on the competition, but the wider curvestranslate to a more optimal stride length, which means the 400-meterand above runners don’t have to slow down to turn the corner.
The facility also includes side-by-side long jump and triple jumppits; two side-by-side pole vault runways; two locations for highjumps and state-of-the-art steeple chase equipment adaptable formen’s or women’s competition.
“This is something we dreamed would happen,” Sheffield said.”Frankly, I never thought it would happen in my tenure.
“The wait is definitely worth it.”
Sheffield’s team spent two years practicing away from home; twicea week at Balboa Stadium and twice at OTC. Each facility brought itsown set of challenges.
“It really divided the team,” said distance coach JenniferNanista. “Everyone was going in a different direction. Some wouldpractice at OTC, some at Balboa Stadium — it really took a toll onteam unity.
Although it is the training facility for many of Team USA’solympic athletes, OTC is still a 35-45 minute drive from campus. Butat least there, they had room to run.
When the team took to Balboa Stadium it was a different story.Balboa is a public track — which means everyone’s welcome.
“When you’re out here and you say ‘track,’ everyone jumps out oflane one and lane two,” Sheffield said. “When you’re at Balboa andyou say ‘track,’ they say ‘Track? Yeah, this is a track.’ They justkeep walking.
“We had runners darting in and out of lanes and almost had a fewcollisions.”
After the indoor portion of the track season ended in lateFebruary, Sheffield was faced with another dilemma. Having watchedhis seniors turn in stellar performances at the MWC IndoorChampionships, he felt they merited a reward.
However, there was a price to be paid.
“That was real tough,” Sheffield said. “We definitely weren’tgoing to do as well, but I felt that after competing so well at theindoors, the seniors deserved to retire their uniforms on the Aztecground.”
The four seniors (Aimee Crabtree, Aja Makaila Frary, MarisaRobinson and Meriah Earle) redshirted, but were allowed to compete inthe same meets as the other Aztecs, only as “unattached.” Thatinsured another year of eligibility and a chance to compete on theirhome turf — four times.
In addition to the MWC Championships (in which SDSU placed fifthlast season), the Aztecs host three regular season meets, giving theathletes a chance to shine in front of family and friends.
“We never had home meets,” Sheffield said. “Nobody ever had achance to see what I saw. I was so elated at how they put everythingon the line (at the indoors) when they competed, that I wanted theuniversity to see that also.”
There was the SDSU women’s soccer team, in the first round of theNCAA playoffs, taking on cross-town rival USD. An electric atmospherepermeated Torero Stadium, with the crowd full of supporters for bothsquads. Yet there was something strange the teams had in common.
It was the closest to home either of them had played.
The 15-minute drive to Linda Vista was nowhere near the trek SDSUmade to OTC for their home games.
“We always felt like we were on the road,” said sophomore HannahGarl.
Men’s soccer was in the same boat. While essentially playing allits games on the road can wear on a team, Kirshner realized it was ashort-term problem.
“There’s no doubt playing off-campus had an impact,” Kirshnersaid. “But I think we did our best. In the long run it has benefitedus.”
Women’s soccer was the first to play at the Sports Deck, Aug. 25.For the team, moving back on campus was a give-and-take scenario.They relinquished their long drive to Chula Vista and they receivedmore fans because of the field’s proximity.
“It’s unbelievable how many people we get here compared to what wegot down there,” said junior goalkeeper Linnea Quinones. “Everyoneknows where we’re at now. It makes it a lot better for us — the fansupport really helps a lot.”
It also helps the field is in better shape now. Coaches andplayers have raved about the quality of the Bermuda grass and theflatness of the field.
“The field is so much flatter, Quinones said. “The old field had acrown to it and you couldn’t even see your midfielder half the time.”
With the Sports Deck in place, it would seem the various teams whocall it home would soon reap the recruiting benefits. After all, justlooking at it on a sunny day is enough to capture one’s imagination.
“The first time I snuck up there and looked, it just took mybreath away,” Nanista said. “I think it’s really going to helprecruiting.
“That’s the first step.”
The second step, due to be completed July 2001, is the newAthletics Administration building, constructed on what was once TerryPool. The new offices, equipment rooms, locker rooms and Hall ofFame, figure to be a major attraction to recruits.
“We need the whole package to get to where I want us to go,”Sheffield said. “I don’t want to just win some of the time. I want towin all the time.
“With this facility we have a bone,” Sheffield said. “When theyfinish the athletic department offices, we’ll have some meat to puton that bone.”
