I agree as far as making it a revenue producer And if that what makes it work turf vs grass and the hope that some great athlete doesn't jump frm asbury to Neptune or if it helps recruit s great athlete from another town to ap...whatever works.
Apparently age ia setting in. Go for it. Hope it realizes the cost savings projected produces great athletes and a winning team. How'd conti do it all those years in ap? Now for the little nerdy kids Its a shame those fields can't be shared. I know each team meeds their own field. Kind of like jets and giants.... --- In [email protected], Educating for Justice <jim@...> wrote: > > I read the comments on the list with regard to the planned upgrade to the > field at APHS and I wanted to comment. I have significant insight on this > matter as I served on the City¹s Recreation Commission during my tenure on > City Council where this was a project of significant interest; I had regular > meetings with the HS Athletic Director about the shared desire to make this > happen; I had discussions with the engineers that built Neptune¹s artificial > turf field to gather background information... > > 1. This is an EXCELLENT move for the school system and the community in > general. > 2. As Dan noted, there are significant long-term cost savings when these > surfaces are installed. > 3. We must deal with the reality that AP is a football town. This is what > kids care about it and for many it is what keeps them on the straight and > narrow. This is good. It is a building block. Once they care about > something, you have leverage with them. You can get them to realize that > football can be gateway to a college education (for most it will be small > colleges, not bigtime football schools). You can get them to realize that > in order for them to play football, they have to pass their classes. You > can get them to realize that in order for them to play football, they have > to attend school regularly. You can get them to realize that in order for > them to play football, they have to keep out of trouble in school. (I think > you see my point here). With the success of a football team, you can parlay > it other sports with the same approach (this has already begun to happen > with AP basketball). > 4. With the artificial turf in place APHS can rent the facility out. To > give you a sense of what the market is, a half-field rental for one hour > goes for about $100. I will leave it to Oak to do the math. > 5. If you can keep two kids from going down the wrong path and staying out > of jail for their lives, the field will have paid for itself in terms of tax > dollars (it costs about $40k a year to incarcerate a prisoner in NJ). > 6. A field like this will be a matter of PRIDE for the kids, something they > desperately need. When these kids travel outside of AP, they see the other > communities with the great facilities and then they come home to the field > in AP. It sucks. I have played on it, I have coached on it, I have run > recreation programs on it. You get a couple of good weeks in the summer if > the rain cooperates with the grass growing, but after that, it is cement and > bumpy. > 7. Once they do this project, it is imperative that a similar field be built > behind the middle school and that one should have lights. More fields = > more recreation = less idle hands and minds. This is an INVESTMENT in the > future economic and social stability of Asbury Park. > > I could go on, but I hope this is enough to allay concerns and will > encourage many of you to support this project. > > Peace, JWK > -- > Jim Keady, Director > Educating for Justice, Inc. > jim@... > 732.988.7322 > www.educatingforjustice.org > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
