As the Bernards High track is in the works of being redone, many sports and athletes have had to adjust their schedules in order to accommodate the work being done. The renewal of the track is putting a strain on sports, such as soccer and football, as they are being pushed to other fields, since the turf is currently inaccessible. Many athletes are frustrated with the setbacks that have been placed on their schedules due to the restoration of the track.
Mr. Hoppe, the athletic director, said “The company had to do certain amounts of tracks and had delays due to weather which pushed back each job.”
The timing in which the track is being restored is extremely inconvenient for athletes participating in fall sports.
From having to move practices to different areas, and other sports getting “priority” over others, has created a significant drawback for sports teams like soccer. Bailey Olsen ’25, girls soccer varsity player, stresses that it is “definitely not fair” as she feels JV football is getting the greater concern of playing on the turf.
“I think it needed to be redone but the timing is unfortunate for fall sports teams.” Olsen said, “We’ve had to practice on the grass some days before a big game and it is causing a huge disadvantage in our playing skills. We’ve also had to play a lot of home games at the middle school and as a senior it is inconvenient to play touch games on a narrower field.”
The renewal of the track has pushed many practices and games to Bernardsville Middle School, where many athletes find themselves in an unfavorable position due to the conditions of the fields. Sports teams, like girls soccer, have found themselves not performing as well as they could on turf, causing them to not play to their full potential.
Including having to move games to the middle school due to the delay, Mr. Hoppe had to move games around.. Mr. Hoppe provided and example of this. he said, “On September 17th the field hockey team was supposed to have a home game, but I had to move it to an away game on October 17th.”
However, track and cross country coach Mr. Szostak says “The new track will help our runners immensely. The old track was very weathered and hard, which made overuse injuries way more common. Tracks should be redone every 5-10 years, and ours was 15-plus years old so a new surface will be a welcome change.”
So, as much of a burden as the renewal of the track currently is, the beneficial impacts that it will provide to the track team will be substantial. Not only was it long overdue to be renewed, but it will also help runners perform better in competitions.
Varsity football player Ari Rosen ’25 says, “We have to practice on the grass everyday which isn’t fun, but it’s worth it for the good memories to come that could be made on the track.”
As much of a problem as this project has been, Rosen looks toward the positive outcome of this unfortunate scenario. Although football practices, along with many other sports have had to make some adjustments in order to allow for the renewal of the track, the overall impacts that it will have on the track athletes will be worth it.
Mr. Szostak further explains how the new track will not only boost performance but also reduce the risk of injury for track runners. The new track will be much thicker and softer than the previous one. This will hopefully prove to have better overall performance in Bernard’s track runners, as it will have less “wear and tear” on these athletes.
Although this project has been an inconvenience to many of the athletes participating in fall sports, the long-lasting benefits it will provide athletes with will be rewarding and worthwhile.
