After decades of student activities on Francis Lewis High School’s outdoor field – from pep rallies and sports competitions to physical activities and hosting events – Dr. Marmor unveiled plans for a comprehensive renovation of the turf on the Francis Lewis sports field. As the teams expand, anticipation has built among students for the construction of the new school field. The wait may be lengthy, but the final outcome promises to etch a new chapter in Francis Lewis history, offering numerous advantages for future generations of student athletes.
“I am eagerly anticipating the new field; obviously, it’s expected to be a significant improvement over the current one,” said Mr. Sarmuksnis, the handball and soccer coach at Francis Lewis High School. “It’s supposed to feature stands, and beautiful handball and tennis courts will be situated in the back.”
The renovation will take two to three years according to Principal Dr. Marmor. The $15 million renovation will include various features to enhance the future of PSAL sports at the school. However, the lack of a sports field will present challenges to current student athletes who will have no field for practice. Despite the various difficulties presented, Dr. Marmor believes the new features in the field will bring long term benefits.
“Whatever my concerns are, they are far outweighed by the positives that we’re going to get for the long-term future of our school from this unbelievable new facility,” said Dr. Marmor. “We’re getting three new tennis courts, three new handball courts, a JROTC training facility, and a storage facility for all of our sports teams. We’re also getting brand new bleachers that will hold up to a thousand, and a score booth as part of the bleachers where you could be able to control the scoreboard, make announcements, and host events.”
Dr. Marmor added that Francis Lewis will have its first-ever regulation track. The regulation track will have correct measurements and shape, allowing Francis Lewis to host competitions.
“The track that was there before was not a regulation track, we could not hold competitions. We’re now getting a full regulation competition track,” Dr. Marmor said. “All of the parts that go with track also have the pole vault, the high jump, the shot put, hurdles,and all the other things that come along with it.”
Coaches agree that the new additions and renovations to the field will provide increased advantages and benefits to students at the school. Mr. Block, coach of the Girls’ Indoor and Outdoor Track team discussed this topic formally, along with his own experiences coaching the girls’ track teams.
“It’s going to be good for everyone, but it’s especially good for our school because it’s just another opportunity and another thing that kids have to use here that others don’t elsewhere outside of Francis Lewis,” Mr. Block said.
However, Mr. Block also expressed concerns about the challenges he and the track team will face during the field’s closure for renovation. Without a track, accurately measuring the time and distance covered by athletes becomes a challenge.
“The second significant issue for us is the absence of track measurements, requiring us to estimate a lot of things,” Mr. Block said. “It introduces more room for error and increases the risk of injury when we lack a track for running sports.”
The last renovation of the field took place approximately 23 years ago, making this not the first time sports teams at the school have had to adapt to practicing without a field. Mr. Sarmuksnis relocated his soccer team to Peck Park, as he did in 2002 during the previous construction. However, he stated that practices held outside of school grounds pose safety concerns for student athletes.
“During practice, I was setting up cones on the field, and I noticed a car driving by. I heard what sounded like gunshots, and I looked over at my team, finding one of the girls on the floor with red paint all over her face and body. It was a paintball drive-by,” recounted Mr. Sarmuksnis. “It scared me to a level that I have never been scared before.”
Hetty Byun, the captain of the girls’ flag football team, addressed concerns from athletes about relocating to new practice areas. While she finds it “annoying” to move locations just to practice flag football, she remains optimistic.
“It might be a bit annoying, but it doesn’t really matter where we practice since we can make it work,” Byun said. “I did hear some complaints about this, with people asking where they are going to practice now and worrying about traveling far for practice.”
Burke pointed out the struggle some girls on the track team face due to different dismissal times affecting practice time.
“There are people who finish at four o’clock, and it’s not like they can just run from class and go to the field anymore,” Burke said. “They have to take a ten, twenty-minute bus ride to a park now. So they might not even want to be on the team anymore because what’s the point if you can only run for thirty minutes to an hour instead of your full two hours.”
Mr. Sarmuksnis stated that he and his teams will now practice within courts at Kissena Boulevard, not far from Francis Lewis High School, which will be shared with Townshend Harris.
“As far as coaching without handball courts, that’s going to be much more difficult because now we have to share handball courts with Townshend Harris,” Mr. Sarmuksnis said. “That will lead to less practice time for individuals because we’ll have to share.”
Despite the challenges faced by current student athletes practicing without a field, Dr. Marmor believes the transformative upgrades, including new facilities and a regulation track, hold the promise of enhancing the school’s sports programs for generations to come.
“I would say I’m more than excited and thrilled to see it happen,” Dr. Marmor said. “Yes, the next two years are going to be tough, but the school will be able to enjoy the field for at least 20 years after that. I appreciate everyone’s patience during the tough time of the building.”
