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Nathan Novotny

"Ultimately, I think the renovations will be awesome so it will so be worth it. I just wish i could actually be around to make use of them," says Cole Dutko when he was asked on his thoughts of the brand new renovations to the school like the new courts being built.

Excitement filled the boys tennis team as the season began. Last year’s season ended with the record of 11-7 and a third place finish in the Suburban East Conference. The Ponies seemed hopeful for this upcoming season. The newly resurfaced tennis courts looked as good as ever. However, they were not around long before being torn down and used as a temporary parking lot for students to make room for construction vehicles.

This is the exact situation that the boys tennis team is in right now. The newly passed bond granted a newly updated athletic area, which means construction. In the plans, the tennis courts are to be removed and relocated in time for next year’s season. Right now, the courts are being used as a temporary parking lot. With a great start, the Ponies are hopeful for this upcoming season, despite this difficult situation presented to them.

The courts that are now being used as a parking lot were newly renovated in 2014. Soon, they will cease to exist altogether, as they are being torn up in the summer.

“I understand there was a dilemma that the school faced. In order to minimize disruptions to some things, there need to be compromises elsewhere. I know that if they had been able to hold off the construction for just three or four weeks, we really could have been able to get the bulk of our season in with very little disruption,”  Coach of both the girls and boys team, David Kahl, said, “But I also know there are timelines in construction that I don’t know all the details of. And I think the top priority is, as it should be, to have the actual school building ready for next fall. I just have to trust people who know the business better than I that what we did was the right thing. It’s not great consolation to the team this year, but we will try to be team players and make the best of it.”

While coach Kahl is optimistic about the situation, it is hard to have to play with it.

“It’s a huge change to how we practice and play. It makes everything a lot harder. There’s probably around 60 kids on the team, so fitting them all onto about 10 courts is almost impossible. It really changes up our style,” junior Nick Anderson said.

With practices and home matches now being distributed between Stillwater Junior High and Oak-Land Junior High and a little time at Lily Lake, it makes the issue of space even more prevalent.

“The matches are more of a challenge, in that a tennis match is determined by who wins the best of seven matches (four singles and three doubles). With only six courts, we always have one match that needs to wait out, in addition to any exhibition matches that will be played,” Kahl said. “One of the biggest challenges has been communication on where people are supposed to go, and if there are buses. Tennis becomes especially more difficult with the amount of rain outs we have run into this spring too. I know the athletic office has been working hard to try and make things work for us as best they can.”

Despite these difficulties, the boys are already flying through competition with the season just underway.

“We’re doing pretty good so far. Were 5-1 and first in the conference. We just have to keep it up and we’ll be set,” junior Jack Leach said.

“Season is off to a great start, as the boys won both their opening conference matches 7-0 and we finished first in the Herzog Invitational Tournament,” coach Kahl said.

The Herzog invitational was an eight team tournament that was played right before the courts were demolished.

“It was bittersweet for sure,” junior Cole Dutko said. “The last time we played on the courts was for the Herzog Invitational and we ended up getting first place. It was a great way to part with them to be honest.”

While the destruction of the courts could be a sad or even touchy subject to coach Kahl, he looks on the bright side and keeps a very optimistic point of view for the whole endeavor.

“There is definitely heartache that the renovations and resurfacing, which has been so nice, and the envy of all visiting teams, is getting plowed under. I don’t think they were a waste, however, because we were able to use them for a couple of years. At the time it would have been impossible to know that a bond would pass, and the new design would move the tennis courts to the other side of the building. In one sense it seems like it’s a shame, but in the grand scheme of things and the big picture of our district, the renovations that were done were probably just a drop in the bucket,” Kahl said.

Ultimately, the renovations and additions were bound to happen because of the bond, and while not everything was predicted such as the tearing down and relocating of the courts, most everyone is taking for what it is, the next chapter in Stillwater Area High School.