Kim Chau<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The sun is beating as athletes lace their cleats and get dressed for
\ntheir fourth game of the season. Their opponents begin to warm-up and routinely
\nour team starts our own. Coaches announce lineups while captains give their
\nlast round of encouragement. This sounds like it could be any team from North
\nToronto right? Well it is\u2026this isn\u2019t an article about how well our teams are
\ndoing and how we can\u2019t wait to defeat all of Northern\u2019s teams. This article is
\nabout how it is IMPOSSIBLE to get any practice time on the field and how all of
\nus (with the exception of boys rugby) pray to get at least one home game each
\nseason.<\/p>\n
This spring has been a hectic season for North Toronto Athletics. It was the first
\nspring that we\u2019ve had the opportunity to use the brand new field and transition
\nout of using Eglinton Park. For the most part, I think we can all agree that we
\nlove having a field just outside of the school instead of having to travel to
\nthe park just to kick a soccer ball. On the other hand, I think most NT athletes
\ncan agree that it is a pain trying to figure out whether you have practice and
\nwith how many other teams you have to share the field with.<\/p>\n
In the spring, our school runs approximately five different teams that require the
\nfield to practice and compete. That\u2019s five different teams sharing ten possible
\nslots to practice; every day before and after school. Don\u2019t forget to factor
\nout home games, shortened weeks and other schools that also use our field, leaving
\nus with let\u2019s say eight practice slots. As kind, well spirited athletes, most
\nteams have decided to split the field with other teams compromising their
\npractice to let other teams work on a few drills of their own. One morning our
\nfield hosted two girls soccer teams, girls rugby and track, not to mention St.
\nClement\u2019s as well as St. Monica\u2019s track teams.<\/p>\n
Yet what\u2019s bothersome with the distribution of time slots is our generosity towards
\nneighboring schools. St. Monica\u2019s, St. Clement\u2019s, and occasionally Northern all
\nreap benefits of our field before NT students. We have difficulty finding time
\nto house our own athletic teams, let alone share our highly in demand field
\nwith other schools.<\/p>\n
In addition to all of the difficulty trying to book the field for practice, many
\nteams are forced to travel to vast ends of the city in order to compete. The
\naverage school team plays about half of their games at home, while our athletes
\nare grateful to receive one. NT\u2019s girl soccer team was promised the opportunity
\nto play all of their games at home, but when the time came they were only
\nallowed three home games due to scheduling conflicts. The ultimate team trekked
\nall the way to the upper beaches to play a game in the middle of a town house
\ncomplex and was only offered one home game this season. Many other teams have
\nseen the same trends including the girls rugby team who had to play a league
\ngame at ten in the morning. NT, I think it\u2019s time we look out for our own
\nathletics before reaching out to the community. If we could manage to practice
\nat Eglinton Park, I don\u2019t see why anyone else can\u2019t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kim Chau The sun is beating as athletes lace their cleats and get dressed for their fourth game of the season. Their opponents begin to warm-up and routinely our team starts our own. Coaches announce lineups while captains give … Continue reading