Tag: nielsen

Categories
Stories In Focus

Fall Sports Alumni Weekend

This past weekend, the Houghton College Athletic Department hosted its first Alumni Weekend for four fall sports teams: women’s volleyball, women’s and men’s soccer, and women’s field hockey.  The women’s volleyball had five alumni attend while the men’s soccer team had about twenty alumni. The women’s soccer team had fourteen alumni players return to campus, among which there were four former All-American players. Although the weather was not ideal, it was a good turnout for the first combined sport alumni event. “Saturday was a lot of fun. Always great to have our alumni back and get a chance to catch up” said Head Women’s Volleyball Coach Nancy Cole. “Wish we could see them more often. ”

Screen Shot 2016-04-14 at 8.37.00 PMMost of the alumni came in on Friday or early Saturday morning to campus for this special weekend. Some stayed in the community or at some of the current players’ houses where they had the chance to reconnect with old teammates. The events started on Saturday with games taking place  around noon. At Nielsen, the women’s volleyball team played against their alumni, then the women’s field hockey played against their alumni immediately right after at 1:30pm. While the women’s and men’s soccer games were scheduled to play outside on Burke Field,  a snow covered field caused them to relocate to the Kerr-Pegula Field House. They followed the same time schedule as the teams at Nielsen with the women playing at noon and the men going right after. Once the men’s soccer game ended, everyone was invited to a reception where there was food served and a couple speeches given. “The play was fast-paced and the alumni showed that they still have their touch and can play a quality game” said Head Women’s Soccer Coach David Lewis. “Overall, it was a great opportunity to catch up on player’s families, jobs, and grad schools.” Head Men’s Soccer Coach Matthew Webb added, “Seeing the alumni back on the field playing with each other is always so fun to see.  Seeing the relationships that were formed while at Houghton sustained over the years is so rewarding.”

Throughout the years, athletic teams have always had alumni games where they played against other alumni, the junior varsity team, or the varsity team. These were more separate events that each team was in charge of coordinating and were held on different dates during the year. Often, the women’s soccer team would co-host an alumni event with the men’s soccer team but have two single events. However, the combined alumni event was a very relaxed occasion where everyone from different aspects of the college and alumni can reunite and have some fun together. “Opportunity to bring everyone back on the same day and the various departments of the college can support everyone in their competitions and talk with the alumni” commented Athletic Director Skip Lord. “It’s almost like a family reunion seeing a bunch of people that you haven’t seen in awhile.” A lot of athletes have relationships outside of their own teams and having a combined event where they can all reconnect and network helps to build that sense of community.

Sometimes alumni will drop by a visit or make a phone call, but for everyone to be in the same place at one time is definitely something that is  very special for coaches, players, and the school. One person who has only missed one women’s soccer alumni event, due to just giving birth, is a 1999 graduate and former All-American Jennifer Ricard. Webb said, “It is always great to have our alumni come back to campus…not only to see them and catch up with what they are doing, but also for our current players to be able to meet and interact with players who came before them and helped lay the foundation and traditions of our program.”

Categories
News

New KPFH and NPEC Operating Hours Inconvenient for Students, Faculty, and Staff

With the opening of the new Kerr-Pegula Field House (KPFH), complete with workout facilities accessible to students and faculty, it was anticipated traffic at the Nielsen Physical Education Center (NPEC) would be significantly reduced. However, many within the Houghton community are still unhappy.

ABurdoGym HoursCMYKThe new hours of operation of both the KPFH and the NPEC have become an inconvenience for students and faculty alike. The problem, for many, is caused by the later opening times of both fitness centers not opening its doors until 8 a.m. The result of the changed times are the students and faculty, who typically exercised in the early morning, having difficulty finding time to workout or are unable to workout altogether.

Melissa Bell, a sophomore and thrower for Houghton’s track and field team, has had difficulty juggling studies and preseason workouts with the KPFH hours. Bell said, in general, the KPFH weight room isn’t open long enough. “It is only open for four hours out of the day,” she said. “It gets really crowded in the afternoon, when I usually go to lift.”

“Athletes need to get into the facilities, and everyone has busy schedules. Early morning hours would be helpful.” She said, “ I don’t like getting up early, but if either building were open at 6 a.m., I would go do 6 a.m. lifts to have more time for other things during the day and avoid the rush.”

Faculty and staff members are also frustrated with this situation. Brian Webb, the college’s sustainability coordinator and intercultural student programs cordinator , expressed his frustrations about the new operating hours. Webb, a husband and father of young children, works 3 jobs and is currently enrolled in graduate school at Harvard Extension School. For him, this means that the only time he can exercise is in the early morning. He said this is true for many faculty and staff. Webb stated any other time would mean “missing out on time spent with my wife and children.” He also stated  “the free access to fitness facilities were a great benefit of working at Houghton College, but now this is of almost no value.”

Athletic director, Harold “Skip” Lord said there are obvious “safety, liability and financial issues involved” in the decision to cut the early morning hours in the Neilson and the KPFH. In response, Webb suggested Houghton consider having exercisers sign a waiver if they wish to work out in the morning, or perhaps the implementation of a “buddy-system.” He stated during the early morning hours there were “never proctors previously, and there were no major problems.”

There may soon be action taken to accommodate the concerns raised by members of the community. According to Lord, the athletic department has been taking input from the community, as requested in the initial all-campus e-mail. He stated, “There have been enough requests for morning hours that we have been looking for ways to fund coverage.” Lord also said  he planned to discuss possible solutions with the Vice President of Student Life, Rob Pool.

Categories
News

Update on Athletic Complex Construction

Due to the Kerr-Pegula donation and transition to NCAA division III, Houghton has seen Burke Field completed, the baseball and softball fields nearly done, and the ground-breaking of the field house thus far.

Courtesy of flickr.com
Courtesy of flickr.com

The baseball and softball fields have already been put to use as various teams have begun holding practice on the turf. Additionally, local baseball leagues have already played on the baseball field. While certain finishing touches still have to be made, such as the tower that will overlook the softball pitch and connect to the field house, the fields are now available for use.

Last year, the baseball and softball teams traveled everyday in order to practice on fields in  Angelica and Cuba-Rushford, so the completion of the fields at Houghton is eagerly anticipated amongst the players. “We are excited to play on our new beautiful field that is in our own backyard,” said junior softball player Sarah Beirne.

Skip Lord, Executive Director of Athletics, on the subject of the new tower and connected field house, said that “When [the workers] have the main work done on the tower, probably by the middle of October, they will pour the foundations for the [field house] and the concrete slab…for support.”

Jason Mucher, Director of Compliance and Communications, added to this and said that “This building is already pre-[fabricated], all the pieces and components of it are being put together now and designed in the factory. [The construction workers] will bring it here on trucks and connect it sort of like tinker toys.” Speaking to the construction process itself, Lord said that “they are going to put it together in sections, so it will unfold kind of like an accordion.”

Sections of the outdoor structure of the field house should be completed by the time cold weather comes, so that the construction workers can shift their focus to the inside of the field house throughout the winter and spring. Communication between on-site workers and the contractor is frequent and clear, allowing construction plans are adapted as needed to fit the layout of the worksite. Once a solid foundation has been finished, the workers will be able to move out of the ground, and the remainder of the work needed should be more predictable.

In addition to a 200 meter, 8 lane track, jumping pits, tennis courts, and bleachers seating 800-1000 people, the complex will have offices, locker rooms, VIP conference room, fitness center, weight room, training room, kitchen, and concessions stand. While fitting all of these components into one complex does pose challenges, the plans have been drawn up so that all the components fit together accordingly.

The new complex will be multi-functional and while it will directly cater to the athletic teams, students may make use of the fitness center, weight room, courts, etc. The field house itself will be accessible to the entire student body, allowing the intramural program to expand as well as creating more classrooms for the recreation and physical education departments. Lord and Mucher have both explored possible functions and events for the field house once it is completed.

“It is a big community convention center where you can have concerts, speakers, commencement, flea markets. Or those types of thing that require a lot of open space. It has accessibility and food preparation capability,” said Mucher, “So we can hold anything that requires a large area within this region that does not necessarily have anything to do with athletics. It is a service to the region.”

Following the completion of the field house, there are plans to do more renovations to the Nielsen Center. The movement of a number of offices to the new complex will give Nielsen significantly more space. The volleyball team and both basketball teams would have the opportunity to have their own respective team locker rooms. However, this is more of a long-term goal, and would not be put into action until the college has the appropriate funds.

Regarding the completion date of the field house, Lord said, “These things always get pushed around a little bit, but right now it is supposed to be done May 23rd.”