Richlands gets richer
RICHLANDS, Va. — Ernie Hicks Stadium will look like a suitable home for
champions this year, but not quite this week. The home of the Richlands Blue
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Tornado football team is in the midst of major improvements totaling well more
than a million dollars.
The team that is coming off three straight
The team that is coming off three straight
appearances in the Group AA state championship game can't wait for the sparkling
synthetic turf to be tacked down, the new scoreboard to burst into lights and
the roomy blue fieldhouse to open its doors.
Richlands head coach Greg
Richlands head coach Greg
Mance said Friday, "Every day we walk by them. We're still in the old locker
room with the old showers, and we're overcrowded. We've got, I think, 50 lockers
and I think we've got about 70 kids in there right now (with) no
ventilation.
"I tell the kids it builds character."
Everyone
"I tell the kids it builds character."
Everyone
understands that patience will eventually have its reward.
Mance said,
Mance said,
"We're just excited. It's just a beautiful facility. It's something the town can
be proud of. Our coaches are very proud of it. And I think our kids are very
proud of it."
Richlands High School principal Karen Webb said, "I think
Richlands High School principal Karen Webb said, "I think
all of the student body is really excited about the field. That seems to be the
topic of conversation anywhere I go ... just because it looks so nice and it is
so visible."
The football surface is a brand called "Forever Green" that
The football surface is a brand called "Forever Green" that
Mance said is like a "55-ounce carpet. It's a little thicker than Field Turf,
but more durable. ... It'll play more like a natural field." The cost is "over a
million dollars," the coach said.
That entire cost was covered by EMATS
That entire cost was covered by EMATS
Energy Management, headquartered in Cedar Bluff, through a charitable
organization incorporated as "The Playing Fields of SW Virginia."
Jon
Jon
Bowerbank, EMATS chief executive officer, was the driving force behind the
installation of the synthetic surface at Honaker High School last summer and at
Richlands this year. From now on, the Blue Tornado will play on EMATS Field at
Ernie Hicks Stadium.
Webb said Bowerbank "has financed the whole project.
Webb said Bowerbank "has financed the whole project.
It was a tremendous offer on his part. ... I think all of the student body is
really excited about the field."
Thomas Walls, a Blue Tornado football
Thomas Walls, a Blue Tornado football
fan from Claypool Hill, shared the enthusiasm.
"Me and my brothers are
"Me and my brothers are
down here every day," he said from the Hicks Stadium stands at the end of media
day activities. "They started just putting down the carpet three weeks ago. It's
a tremendous thing, to look at the time and care that it takes. ...
"I'm
"I'm
just excited about everything that's happened."
On Friday, workers were
On Friday, workers were
sewing the word "Richlands" into the end zone. Elsewhere layers of turf were
held in place temporarily by large temporary bolts.
Mance has worked his
Mance has worked his
practice plans around the construction. He thinks the field will be finished
next week. On Friday, he said, "Hopefully we'll be out here practicing next
Wednesday or Thursday."
The fieldhouse, funded by a combination of county
The fieldhouse, funded by a combination of county
tax money and donations, will not be ready until sometime next month, according
to Mance and Webb.
The principal said, "It's still questionable exactly
The principal said, "It's still questionable exactly
when the date will be that the boys will be able to start using it. They are
making progress, and hopefully it will be certainly ready for them within the
first couple of weeks of the season, anyway."
Mance said, "You could use
Mance said, "You could use
this as a setback, and (let it) take your mind off what you're supposed to
(focus on), but I tell the kids 'We'll get there when we get in the fieldhouse.'
We're hoping we'll get there sometime in September."
The regular season
The regular season
starts Aug. 22 at Gate City, Va., with home games the following two weeks
against Honaker and Powell Valley. Richlands will hold two scrimmage games at
Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield, the next two Fridays. An intrasquad scrimmage is
Monday at 6:30 p.m.
Mance said, "We told the kids this (Friday) morning
Mance said, "We told the kids this (Friday) morning
out here at 7:30, 'We're playing one week from today.' We've got a long ways to
go. And anytime you have young kids in the secondary and in skill positions,
you've got to male sure you go slow and you've got to be fundamentally
sound.
"So we don't have as many coverages in as we've had in the past,
"So we don't have as many coverages in as we've had in the past,
and ... I think we've got five running plays in. That's all we're working on.
And that's all we're going to put in. ... Maybe we'll go to six or seven, later
on.
"We're just trying to get everybody comfortable so they're playing
"We're just trying to get everybody comfortable so they're playing
fast and everybody knows what they're doing."
The fieldhouse cost is
The fieldhouse cost is
about half a million dollars and the new scoreboard cost $70,000. The
scoreboard, already in place, will have a video display that will carry
pre-programmed messages and video clips from previous games.
"We've had
"We've had
to put on two more people just to work the scoreboard," Mance said.
A
A
community committee that Webb organized has come up with money "to help 'above
and beyond,' " Webb said.
"This has been a community effort," she said.
"This has been a community effort," she said.
In addition to supplementing the county allocation for the fieldhouse, Webb
said, "With the donations from the community, and from former football players,
and people who aren't even in the community now, we've been able to do a new
scoreboard, bought the weights that will go in the new weight room. We purchased
the washer and dryer ... the floor covering, the equipment that Mr. Mance had
asked for.
"We've been able to supplement what the school board has given
"We've been able to supplement what the school board has given
us."
About $50,000 has gone into furnishing the weight room, Mance
About $50,000 has gone into furnishing the weight room, Mance
said.
Webb added, "I think the football boys are anxious to get in and
Webb added, "I think the football boys are anxious to get in and
start using the new weights."
The football program's success forced the
The football program's success forced the
facilities issue in Richlands to be addressed, Mance said.
"Any time you
"Any time you
go to the state championship game three years in a row, (and) we've been
fortunate to win the district for four consecutive years, and the region ... you
start putting those numbers together and winning championships, you get more
people in the seats.
"I think the community was embarrassed about the old
"I think the community was embarrassed about the old
facility. We were overcrowded in the locker room. ... People got tired of
looking at that.
"Our community stepped up, and the school board, and the
"Our community stepped up, and the school board, and the
(Tazewell County) Board of Supervisors gave us the money to build us a
fieldhouse, because our football program had outgrown the old locker room. So
our numbers really forced them to do something."
He also credited
He also credited
Bowerbank's help with the new field, and pointed to uses beyond the football
team's practices and five home games — plus postseason contests.
"It's
"It's
going to be special," he said about the field. "It's going to help our youth
program ... There will be no rainouts. Our soccer program, I think you'll see it
flourish now, because they've got a place to practice and people will come and
watch. It's going to be a special place, all around."
He reported that he
He reported that he
answered numerous questions about the renovations while on a trip to Hampton,
Va., recently. "People around the state know the upgrades are here. I think
you'll see a lot of people model (after) Richlands when they try to remodel
their facilities."
He said the end result gives "the community something
He said the end result gives "the community something
to be proud of."
With the start of practice this week, Mance said, "It
With the start of practice this week, Mance said, "It
feels nice to be back out here. ... We had over 40 kids this summer (for
strength and conditioning sessions), so we're tickled to death.
"We had
"We had
a great commitment out of our players and our coaches; they have worked
extremely hard. They're excited to get back out here."
A typical part of
A typical part of
local media day interviews involves the coach's predictions of how the district
will stack up. Mance didn't blink an eye.
He said, "I think, if you look
He said, "I think, if you look
at Tazewell, they've got all their players back, and then they consolidated with
Pocahontas. ... I would think you'd have to label Tazewell the favorites, and
Graham second.
"Graham last year tied us for the district
"Graham last year tied us for the district
(championship), and they return a lot of players. ... Graham will be very tough
again. And then I would go with Abingdon, Marion, probably Carroll (County) and
Grundy, and then us."
Mance said he was operating under unwritten ground
Mance said he was operating under unwritten ground
rules of not being allowed to pick his own team first. "I always throw us in
last, since we can't pick ourselves," he said.
For quarterback Joel
For quarterback Joel
Elswick, the memories of state title games has not faded.
"That's a
"That's a
great feeling," he said Friday. "That's a great accomplishment, to get there —
and I would love to get back there again, and see what happens."
Fellow
Fellow
senior Ethain Keene said, "It's a big accomplishment for Richlands to be there,
and I expect us to be there, just like the past three years."
— Contact
— Contact
Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com
tbone@bdtonline.com
more photos of the construction of EMATS Field at
Ernie Hicks Stadium, click here!