Sand has officially landed in time for Paso Robles High School's third official beach volleyball season and it's thanks to the hard-working hands of their community members.
“Just stepping in the sand," Junior Ava Friedling said. "We were like, my goodness, this is so much better.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony commenced the new beach volleyball facility off of Niblick Road and it took the hands of parents, sponsors, and the school board to put everything together within a calendar year.
"We had those parents that were willing to dive in and say we will do the hard work if you will give us a spot to put them and approval to put them in," head coach Vickie Werling said. "And that's what happened.”
The pitch was approved at a school board meeting within a week of the idea being brought to the table by parents of the student-athletes. Shovels were put in the ground in November, and the facility was completed in time for the season.
“Everyone was like, I don't think it's going to happen," Sophomore Kailea Stoltzfus said." Like they're not going to get it up in time for the season. I'm like, just you wait like it's going to work. And they did and they pulled it together. And then we got these beautiful courts and it's so amazing.”
"The school district and the parents, they just felt like we needed a safer, better place to be," Werling said.
From Pismo Beach to Sherwood Park, having a home-field advantage has boosted morale and encouraged interest in the sport amongst the community.
"I'm really starting to look into for potentially including this into middle school, but also having our summer programs where we can have our K-8 kids, and kids from all around the community be able to have an opportunity to use these amazing courts and get exposed to something that, [they don't] normally have the access to,” Athletic Director Michael Sauret said.
The boosters put together 25,000 dollars toward the facility and the rest came from community members and sponsors such as the Borjon Auto Center and Advanced Concrete and Construction.
“The board was extremely excited to be able to support that and it just again, it really shows just what Paso is and what Paso can do," School Board President Nathan Williams said.
Not only do the girls feel they can perform better, but they feel they're also safer using the new facility.
"People come and they’re like this is so nice," Stoltzfus said. "And the fact that we can call this our home court is really amazing.
If any club teams or community members are interested in using the new beach volleyball facilities, Paso Robles High School Athletic Director Michael Sauret said you can contact head coach Vickie Werling or call the High School's Athletics Office.
