ALTHOUGH THE softball and baseball seasons are over, the Coffee County High School fields are not complete. In the off season, both sets of bleachers are being replaced by new aluminum seating that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The renovations are a major improvement, and they are not frivolous.
“Each year we do a bleacher check,” the deputy director of Coffee County schools, Kelvin Shores, said. “The ones at the softball field were starting to deteriorate and something needed to be done.”
“After discovering problems with both the softball and baseball [bleachers], an engineer was called in for a second opinion and agreed that the bleachers needed to be made safer. The new seating will be similar to the old ones in configuration, but there will be areas for those who have handicap needs,” Shores said.
Head baseball coach Kyle Douglas said the project was necessary to show people that the sports are important and that investing in athletics like this helps foster school spirit and community support.
“It improves the experience that fans can have at our ballpark and shows that, to be frank, what we are doing out here matters,” Douglas said. “Athletics are a vehicle for individual, personal development, and investing in athletics allows those that participate to understand that what we are doing matters, and they need to take advantage of it.”
“The old concrete and wood bleachers were built by parents when the baseball and softball programs first got started, and they have been well used,” said Shores. “The parents have continued to be a great support in the project, participating in the demo of the old bleachers.”
“We got the use out of that facility and now we are able to help… make improvements and make it better,” Shores said.
The new bleachers are expected to be completed near the end of the calendar year, well in time for the next softball and baseball season.
“Our community is remarkably involved in our programs,” Douglas said. “This spring, we were fortunate to host the first region game in over 10 years for baseball, and there was not an empty seat in the park. We had several teams make runs at the state tournament this year, and our community showed out each time in support of all our programs.”
Douglas said he hopes the improvements in the community’s space will show them that they are noticed and appreciated.
“Little things like concreting the entire area will allow grandparents and disabled fans easier access to our games, while the simple aesthetic improvement will make coming to the park that much more enjoyable with improved safety features,” Douglas said. “I would like for the community to know that we are building something out here that is going to be special. We are in the pursuit of developing young men who are servant leaders and set the standard for those around them in their day-to-day lives. If we can develop good men, we will develop good baseball players as well. In this pursuit, these boys deserve as much support from our community as we can possibly garner. All of our athletes deserve an experience that they can be grateful for and proud of.” GN
