Players and coaches say proposed new facility would bolster student success, confidence, and mental health.

More than 60 student athletes and coaches rallied in front of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) Saturday morning, in support of the first phase of the proposed athletic complex, which is currently under review by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission .

Phase one includes plans for a track, a grass field, a synthetic turf field, a fieldhouse, a grandstand, reconfigured parking and pedestrian areas, and a storage shed.

Ty Mathew, a junior on the football team, said the current condition of the school’s playing field is such that injuries are common, and players are often more concerned about not hurting themselves, instead of focusing on the game itself.

“Our teams could do so much better with a new track and a new turf field. I feel like it’s safer. The condition is pretty crappy, there’s lots of goose poop, lots of holes where you can get your foot caught up,” Ty said.

Lily Sebastian, a junior lacrosse and field hockey player, said she thinks it’s important to advocate for a new playing field that will provide more opportunities for student athletes. “I know we get hurt a lot on that field, and it’s a lot safer to have a synthetic turf playing field,” Lily said.

For Lily, athletics have expanded her high school experience, and have allowed her to make more connections with her peers. “I think athletics have really helped me to have more friendships with my teammates — it’s a whole family experience for lots of people,” she said.

Lila Mikos, another junior lacrosse and field hockey athlete, said Lily and she have been playing since they were young, and the fields have remained in the same condition the entire time.

“The fields that we have are obviously not adequate, so we are super-excited to have the possibility of getting a synthetic field,” Lila said. “Sports have changed my life. I know it sounds cliché, but I feel like I am a better student, a better family member, and a better person because of how I play on the field, and the interactions I have with my teammates.”

Football Coach Zeke Vought said he has seen many talented athletes get injured on the fields, “from uneven surfaces to entire ditches.”

He also said he has seen many student athletes excel in school as a result of their participation in sports. “Every single season, no matter what season, grades and attendance skyrocket when they start their sport. Kids feel a responsibility to their teammates, they feel a responsibility to the school, they have pride,” Vought said.

Field hockey Coach Rebecca Nutton said sports are a catalyst for student involvement and confidence, and a new athletic complex would benefit many future generations of kids.

“Sports, we know, are a catalyst for students making it through school, making school a priority in their lives, and having mentors on the sports field as well as in the school setting,” she said.

For lacrosse Coach John Wilson, seeing kids get injured on the playing field due to the conditions is a regular occurence. “I have seen the toll these fields take on our kids. I have not gone through a year here without having a serious injury in lacrosse,” Wilson said. 

If student athletes don’t have a facility they can feel safe and proud to play on, Wilson said, they will be at a disadvantage when competing off-Island on synthetic turf.

“We are not giving our kids the appropriate, safe facilities for them to compete on an equal, competitive level with our peer schools,” he said.

He added that not only will the new facility benefit MVRHS students, but it will serve as a center for the whole Island.

“Academics, arts, and athletics — that’s the three-legged stool of community education. The turf field will allow the school facility to be used as a true community resource,” he said. 

There are so many sports offered at the High School that don’t involve these playing fields. It would be an interesting question to ask these kids how much they would pay towards the $ 10 million price tag if it came out of their bank account. I’m thinking they would have a whole different perspective, If not, that’s okay, have mom and dad pay for it and keep the taxpayers out of the cost.

Hi. You should probably refrain from commenting. Over and over this has been a privately funded project. This your comment is moot.

Steve, 2 quick questions. If this is project or fields are to be privately funded, who will keep up the maintainance over the life of the field? And, who will be responsible for the removal of such when the life expectancy has run its course? Thanks

The cost for the maintenance of artificial is one tenth of natural. That is why tax hawks like it. The cost of the removal of artificial is is less than resoding of natural. The people responsible for mowing, watering, fertilizing and reseeding of natural will be responsible for removing the artificial and the end of it’s service life. (currently 10-15 years). My inner being wants natural. My inner tax hawk wants artificial.

The source of funding is not “moot.” 1. All potential sources of funding should be known to the Island beforehand. If a nonprofit has been formed to raise funds for plastic turf, then they should register as a nonprofit and identify themselves and their members and donors. If funding is expected from another quarter—say, an individual or a company or other organization or consortium—that entity must be identified up-front. Otherwise it’s dark money. 2. The community’s, and the school’s, decisions about this development should be made on the basis of merits and value to the students and the Island, not of the basis of availability of private funding for the project. That is, we should not give the green light to a development because it is “free.” Such things are never “free,” and private money sources should not control the land-use planning we do here, also for sports fields and a “sports-plex.” Especially if the money sources are not transparent. It should be noted that this development has been criticized for other features of the design besides the environmental, health, and cost negatives.

As the old saying goes: “If you don’t want to kiss a fella, don’t let him pay for your dinner.”

1. Are you suggesting that if I ,as an individual, choose to donate to the schools a million dollars worth of artificial turf that the schools should refuse my donation, until I identify myself? 2. A ‘nonprofit’ is not a nonprofit until it identifies itself as such. 3. Have you ever made an anonymous donation? Was it refused? 4. The community’s and school’s decision on this should be made on the basis of acceptable overall ‘quality’ and least cost to the taxpayer. 5. All developments get criticized for design, not just environmental, health and cost negatives, by someone.

Hey John, I’m an athlete that run track and cross country. I will never benefit from these fields, and while i support my peers who do use them, a new track is also included in this renovation. With the current state of our track, by next year it won’t uphold the safety standards that allow us to hold meets on it. Now how does it look for our community if the majority of our athletes (save sailing, hockey, basketball, tennis, and golf) are unable to practice safely and invite other teams to compete with us on our beautiful island? Does it show that we support our future generations interests and hobbies, or that we care about them if we don’t support projects like this? I think not. Please consider how our community can greatly benefit from supporting this project.

sorry, i forgot to mention that i run for mvrhs, i’m not just some random student athlete

Should the Mom’s and Dad’s also have to pay for the coaches, the equipment, the buses and the ferry boats too? Why should one dime of taxpayer money go to sports?

Have you spent any time educating yourself on this project? End of life costs are built in to the cost of installation. I got this by listening to the hearings. The equipment to maintain the turf would be part of the construction cost. Running the equipment would be on the school budget just like any other field, grass or turf. Again. All info obtained by listening and reading the application. And you don’t have to pour water on it or fertilize it. All part of the application materials and public record. It has been a tedious process reading the volumes. Below, the term dark money is a scare tactic. Go read the annual report at the hospital. Many many anonymous donors! I guess that is dark money as well? And this was covered in open meeting by Mr. Smith. Go check out his comments. Very clear. You don’t ask for donors for a project you don’t have because you don’t know what the project is until approved. If you don’t want to run on the track, just don’t go. If you don’t want to watch kids play any of the sports that would be played on the field, just don’t go. Private money will not control the field. Just allow the stadium, track, lighting, 1 turf field and 1 grass field for this phase to be constructed. It will still be a municipal facility. Again. A scare tactic. All this is out in the open. Who actually thinks that the school committee has some clandestine motives? They sure have taken abuse for trying to provide something better for kids. Nobody will run for these offices knowing that whatever is proposed takes years and years and is fought at every turn.

John– it’s not always about the money, and your perception that everyone but yourself is somehow “entitled ” to something is a red herring. I think this artificial field is a horrible idea, but your take on it is off point. I appreciate the comments from the students who will actually be using this. I have been strongly opposed to the concept of synthetic turf. After reading this article, I am taking a hard second look at it. A heartfelt thank you to the students who participated in this rally of support. Your opinions matter. I, for one, will take a more in depth look.

One of the things that comes into my head each time this synthetic turf controversy comes up is the elementary school in VH. For over 70 yrs that school had delayed maintenance which contributed to the state it is in. So goes the situation with the athletic fields at the high school. If you let an athletic field deteriorate of course people are going to hurt themselves. Then who is to blame! If you look, students and professionals hurt themselves on synthetic turf as well. So when a Jr, in high school is commenting on being hurt, list how, why and contributing factors then present accurate information. As far as goose do is concerned, there are various was of keeping natural turf fields clear of geese or other….. Oh yes, the Jr high young adults, will probably not ever use either surface as construction, or maintainance of the existing… will probably not be completed by the time they graduate. Look and talk about this realistically. Let’s question, do off island teams, live in environmentally sensitive areas like MV?

Where on this planet is there a non environmentally sensitive community? As usual we islanders think “only here”. Why not clear cut more forest and gain the 2 additional fields needed? That is what is next if this goes down! Then all the tree huggers come out. And this whole thing goes out more years. Everyone hears what they want to hear but the applicant has stated this field does the work of 3. Why can’t people hear this and know what comes next?

Steven– you gotta be kidding when you ask the question “Where on this planet is there a non environmentally sensitive community?” Really ? Then you shift into classic republican “fear mongering” mode and predict what is going to happen if we go down some slippery slope. — “Why not clear cut more forest” you say– And just because the guy selling snake oil says it’s wonderful stuff and will cure everything doesn’t make it so. And sorry, “tree huggers” do not conjure up enough fear in this community to move public opinion. Now, if you said that if we have a grass fiend, all the racist will come out and yell at the players of color, THAT would scare this community, and we would never allow a grass field.

There is an alternative. Healthy, environmentally superior, better for athletes (ask the Ravens): Properly maintained grass fields, which these kids haven’t experienced, and which we could start work on tomorrow. This opaque “private funding” really is just odd: if you’re the philanthropist behind this, why not proudly say so, and be open about the extent of the commitment being made? Trojan horse, methinks.

If you’re referring to the Baltimore ravens field I am not ready for my taxpayer dollars to be spent to keep the field in NFL conditions we do not have NFL players or NFL fans supporting that we have taxpayers. As someone who has collected money from wealthy people most of them do not want their name used as many others will come out asking for money as well. Also many of these people do it for selfish reasons and not to see their name in the paper. I look forward to the decision by the MVC commissioners who sit on various conservation boards or aligned with those groups and pretend they are neutral and see how they vote.

Ask the Ravens? I’m trying to think of which “Ravens” you are talking about. Could it be the Portsmouth Abbey School? nah can’t be, they have a synthetic Turf field for soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse right on the shores of Narragansett Bay. Maybe the newly renamed Rutland Vermont Ravens? nah can’t be them because they have a beautiful Synthetic field that most the of the towns surrounding them ask to use because they can’t use their grass fields. WAIT do you mean the Baltimore Ravens? of the National Football League? you can’t possibly be comparing MVRHS to a professional football team with an annual revenue of $450,000,000.00 yes $450 million! I wonder what Ravens Play on properly Maintained grass fields. I can’t wait to donate to this project as soon as it is approved. I may even be riding a Trojan Horse.

Kids need sports and we should do everything we can to make sports available to all kids. The issue of needing new fields is a given. I applaud the students for getting out and taking a stand. For way too many years the fields have been inadequate, but that should not get confused with bringing in a playing field that is considered by many, as potentially wrong for the environment. The recycling of this turf is key. As I understand it, currently there is no place in the US to dump this turf once it outlives its life. It may go to repurpose batting fields, but only a small percentage will get repurposed. BEFORE this field gets approved, the Vineyard should find a way to recycle 100% of the turf. We are moving towards managing our wastes and working toward not shipping things off the island. If we bring this turf here, then we should be willing to recycle it 100% ourselves. Sending it to the Netherlands seems like a terrible idea. Not knowing how this will be handled when the times comes, is not good planning. The public needs to know who is funding this project. We made a mistake many years ago when the school thought the idea of bringing soda machines was a way to bring in funds and put lights on our playing fields. They were never free. We didn’t let McDonald’s come to Martha’s Vineyard, but we allowed the soda industry into our schools. Lessons have been learned and in moving toward a more sustainable future, the right thing to do is consider the waste first.

Let’s not let this project get confused with supporting our kids and sports.

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