As spring sports are arriving quickly, many athletes, parents, and fans are starting to wonder where home games and practices will be located this year because of the field construction going on at BSM. All of the new locations have been established, so the main concern now is the effect this change is bound to have on the sporting community.
Playing at different locations has had both positive and negative reactions. “It’s always fun playing at home and we play better since we know (the field) better, but Hopkins is nice since there is turf,” said senior boys lacrosse captain Chase Mlnarik. “It doesn’t matter though; we’ll win either way.”
Junior baseball player Greg Zeman had a similar opinion on the situation. “It’ll be weird to travel to different fields for home games, but it’s a nicer field and it will be nice to play under the lights [at Braemar],” said Zeman.
One negative aspect about playing off-site is the lack of fans who will be able to watch games. Many students enjoy watching games while waiting to be picked up or in between their own games; with games in many locations, this is virtually impossible. “We won’t have any student fans, but it’s worth it from a game standpoint since it’s a nicer field,” said softball coach Dan Bowler.
Another large concern is about practicing. “We don’t have a schedule for practices yet,” said transportation coordinator Judy Koski. “We will mainly have practices at local parks.” Athletes will have to pay close attention to both when and where practices will be taking place.
Since the practices will be off-site, some teams will get buses for practices, but because it would be too difficult to provide busing for every team, some will have to carpool in order to get to their practice location.
For specific information about certain sports, the spring game schedules are posted online for the upcoming seasons at bsmsports.org.
Home Field Locations:
Varsity Baseball -Braemar Fields in Edina
Other Levels of Baseball -Braemar and Basset Creek Park in Crystal
Boys Lacrosse -Hopkins High School, St. Louis Park junior high
Girls Lacrosse -Hopkins High School
Softball -Aquila Park and Dakota Park in St. Louis Park
Boys Tennis -Aquila Park
