In 2014, the Tuolumne Bears youth football team were the orphans of the Mother Lode Valley Football League. They had no home to call their own. With Thorsted Field being renovated, the Bears had to play every game on the road. The Bears took on the mentality of “Road Warriors.”
“Our kids thrived on it and got better because they looked at it like, ‘We don’t have a home, so we are going to have to play better,’” said Bears President Ryan Wynne. “Playing on the grass was like Christmas for them. It was hard though. Not knowing where we were going to play every week was difficult.”
On Monday, the Bears signed a deal to not only have all their home games back at Thorsted Field, but they can now practice on the Summerville Baseball field, rather …show more content…
Summerville superintendent Robert Griffith and Leveroos made the process as simple and easy as possible.
“It really wasn’t a negotiation,” said Griffith. “As a district we set some usage policies and fees, and we looked at how many times they will be at the facility and make sure it reflects what our fees are. At the same time, we wanna be a good host and support our local sports teams.”
The rental of the Summerville facilities will run the Bears $5,000 per season, which includes six home games, a potential All-Star game, and daily practices. It is a small price to pay for safer practice conditions and a field to call home.
“Because we were always on the road, we never had a home field advantage,” Brocchini said. “We would have done better if we would have had a home advantage and now we do.”
Practicing at “Goat Head” cost the Bears a few players throughout the years. Players and parents didn’t feel that the field conditions were adequate enough to provide a stable practice environment. Now, parents and players will feel more comfortable practicing on the grass at Summerville, rather than the rocks at “Goat …show more content…
“It will also make the high school better in years to come.”
On August 10, when the Bears can start practicing at Summerville High, they truly will have gone from outhouse to penthouse. Thorsted Field will host a jamboree August 15, and youth football will officially be back in Tuolumne on August 22, when the Bears play
“Our kids thrived on it and got better because they looked at it like, ‘We don’t have a home, so we are going to have to play better,’” said Bears President Ryan Wynne. “Playing on the grass was like Christmas for them. It was hard though. Not knowing where we were going to play every week was difficult.”
On Monday, the Bears signed a deal to not only have all their home games back at Thorsted Field, but they can now practice on the Summerville Baseball field, rather …show more content…
Summerville superintendent Robert Griffith and Leveroos made the process as simple and easy as possible.
“It really wasn’t a negotiation,” said Griffith. “As a district we set some usage policies and fees, and we looked at how many times they will be at the facility and make sure it reflects what our fees are. At the same time, we wanna be a good host and support our local sports teams.”
The rental of the Summerville facilities will run the Bears $5,000 per season, which includes six home games, a potential All-Star game, and daily practices. It is a small price to pay for safer practice conditions and a field to call home.
“Because we were always on the road, we never had a home field advantage,” Brocchini said. “We would have done better if we would have had a home advantage and now we do.”
Practicing at “Goat Head” cost the Bears a few players throughout the years. Players and parents didn’t feel that the field conditions were adequate enough to provide a stable practice environment. Now, parents and players will feel more comfortable practicing on the grass at Summerville, rather than the rocks at “Goat …show more content…
“It will also make the high school better in years to come.”
On August 10, when the Bears can start practicing at Summerville High, they truly will have gone from outhouse to penthouse. Thorsted Field will host a jamboree August 15, and youth football will officially be back in Tuolumne on August 22, when the Bears play