Although students have expressed concern about how the recent decision to move to the Crown site will affect their athletics, Athletic Director Alton Lightsey is confident that sports will continue to thrive despite the move and may even experience positive effects.
On March 26, the MCPS Board of Education approved the controversial “Modified Option H” redistricting plan, which will relocate all current students to the newly constructed Crown site in an attempt to improve access to regional programs and address longstanding education disparities. As a result of this change, all current athletic programs will be transferred with the student body.
The most noticeable change associated with this move is that all athletics will soon be played using Crown’s facilities, leaving all of this school’s athletic facilities behind. This has caused students to worry over the ability to provide or the quality of all necessary athletic facilities. “I was worried when I first heard the news that we were moving to Crown because I heard that they didn’t have a turf field, which we need for lacrosse,” senior Aadi Chaudhari said.
However, Lightsey is assuring that all athletic programs will continue to have access to adequate facilities, including a functional stadium field and gymnasium. We will have “every single thing,” Lightsey said.
In fact, Lightsey outlined possible benefits that the Crown move may have on athletics, one being that all equipment and fields will be brand new. “We will have new soccer goals. We will have new field hockey goals, new dugouts, new batting cages,” Lightsey said.
Additionally, Lightsey expressed excitement over what he feels is a significantly improved layout for both spectators and athletes. As opposed to the school’s current field layout, which is notoriously difficult to navigate, featuring fields scattered far apart, gyms on separate floors and a softball field off the property, Lightsey is excited about the opportunity to have all these in one place. “The gym will be in one area, and that will lead out to the track and the football field. Baseball and softball will be on our property,” Lightsey said.
Lightsey anticipates that the increase in student population, which he expects to be between 400 and 500, will affect teams, as the school will be switching back to the 4A division after three years. “I think we have accomplished a lot in our athletics department and earned [the right] to switch back to 4A. It’s been long enough,” senior Krish Balkee said.
This increase also means that some teams that were unable to be fielded due to a lack of players may now be made. For example, girls’ flag football will be adding a JV team, and the school is trying to expand cheer to have a JV team for the first time in seven years.
Furthermore, the jump in population may contribute to an increase in athletic event turnout. “I think these changes will definitely bring more excitement for athletics games. Hopefully, more people will attend football games and other sports events because they will feel proud of their school,” senior Jess Yielding said.
The process by which the athletics department receives funding will not change during this move, with the amount being allotted based on various factors, including the school’s needs, strengths and booster club. Lightsey does not expect any coaching changes to be made due to the move, assuming all current coaches choose to return.
