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Coach: Why Doesn’t Northview Get A Field House Too?
July 14, 2009
Northview High School Head Football Coach Cody Keene says his departure from Northview High School is all about the positives — except for one little thing.
Every high school with a football program in Escambia County has a field house, except for Northview, and Keene says that is downright unfair.
Keene announced his departure as Northview’s head coach Monday morning. Read that story here.
At Pensacola High School, a field house was due to be completed in 2005 for $3 million, but it was delayed by Hurricane Ivan. When it was completed this year, the total price tag was $5 million. In the PHS field house, there are different wings for boys’ and girls’ sports, coaches’ offices, locker rooms for boys and girls, and even 52-inch flat screen televisions.
At Northview, there is no field house. Football players use the cramped PE locker rooms.
“How can the schools in Pensacola all have field houses and Northview doesn’t? How can the district leadership spend $5 million on a field house at Pensacola High and there is nothing here?” Keene said. “It’s not right. All of the students are Escambia District students. How can our board leave Northview out? We work just as hard. Why can’t they have a field house?”
Keene was clear that he was not criticizing Pensacola or the other high schools in the county; rather, he said he just wanted to point out that Northview’s program was lacking what had been provided to every other high school football program in the county.
“They deserve at Northview what everybody else gets,” Keene said. “We are a smaller school. Maybe we don’t need a $5 million field house. We could take a smaller field house.”
Pictured top: Northview High School Head Football Coach Cody Keene. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
14 Responses to “Coach: Why Doesn’t Northview Get A Field House Too?”
Facts The baseball team has a club called the diamond club that takes care of the baseball program. The diamond are the ones that built the batting cage that the team uses and they do a lot of work around the baseball field for the team and help build that program as well. Yes we do need a field house for all sports to use. It is a disgrace when it takes the boys a while to get in the small locker room at halftime. A field house with locker room that is only used by the players would be a lot better than having to share the locker room with all people.
yea, i agree football is the only sport at school. let the other kids get their own money and stuff for there sports and rooms, get mommy and daddys to give money to make things better
Yes the boys weight room is bigger and nicer than the girls. Do you know who did the fundraising for all that equipment? Football players and Coaches did. Do you know who is in that weightroom year round including all throughout the summer? I believe that would be fooball players and coaches also. Let me ask you this “Advocating For All”…………….why don’t other sports form their own clubs like the football program has done? The answer to this question was answered several years ago when the booster club dissolved because everyone wanted handouts while football busted their butts to build a great program. The coaching staff has broke their back to build a PROGRAM at Northview and you are crying about them trying to better the facilities even more FOR THEIR KIDS??? I bet if you ever sat down with coaches you would find out that they would help any program and love to see them all be successful. But that is what you get for assuming.
Northview deserves to have a field house. I am willing to go to Pensacola and adress the School Board about the problems and concerns of North Escambia Schools. And I would bet 50 or more people will say they are willing. But when you get to the meeting and only 5 or 6 show up it makes it hard to prove your point . I know we will aiways have a few negative people, but what we need to do is come together as one and adress the issues that would make Northview better for all of our kids Boys and Girls.
Football is the cash sport, no other sport on campus makes money. If you want your particular team to have a facility start an orginization as we have and raise money and build a girls field house. We will have a field house by next year, but it will be intended for the football team. If all want to be equal, contribute and work equally.
If you think the district is biases, look within. Northview does not have a Sports’ Booster Club that supports ALL sports. For example, observe the school’s website where it clearly only mentions the Quarterback Club. Another point, if a field house goes up for the boys, than through title IX-what equivalent treatments will the girls receive? Have you ever compared the girl’s weight room to the boys? Just asking?
I agree with the statements that Northview does not receive the same treatment as the rest of the schools in the district. They do not receive equal treatment with academic, or special needs issues as well. The other high schools in the district offer a variety of honors, AP, and electives that Northview is unavailable to offer. If you want to see school pride increase, than the community needs to rally for all children at Northview. Hence, if a field house is your passion, and that gets you motivated- than great! Remember to take the whole picture with you!
NHS will always fall through the loophole unless Mrs.Weaver and other leaders step up and speak out ! A field house is one of many things the northend students miss out on and as for Chris I am glad you made it through just fine maybe you should have had higher standards for your school district and they would not be needing a field house they would have one . So I say to all stand together and see if Mr.Thomas will bring us up to date with other schools in the district , because all the children deserve the best Florida has to offer.
Chris the way i take this article is not one of complaint but of announcing how his now former football team, who I say have done excellent since his first year of coaching @ NHS, shouldn’t have to go all the way from the game field to the PE locker rooms just to sit on that hard concrete floor to rest up for the second half. I mean even the lockers in there aren’t fit to have all that equipment stuffed in them. Maybe if such an improvement as a field is built @ NHS more students would have more Chief pride and it may raise the number of players coming out to play. Things will turn around one day with all the cutbacks but do you accually think the ECSB will ever let such a area motivational booster like this happen? Not a chance, heck if there wasnt such a thing as GPS or mapquest they wouldn’t even know how to get to NHS. So what I’m saying is dont hate on Coach Keene for trying to help out his former team b/c whether you know it our not he has brought a great stability to the NHS football program. Or if you’d like we could just go back to having a new head coach every year like how it was my four years @ NHS.
Chris you made it through school without a field house, but that isn’t the point that Coach Keene was trying to make. The point is, we on the north end deserve the same facilities as the schools in Pensacola. We should have the same facilities, the same courses & teachers. We are part of Escambia County School District and should have a field house. Coach Keene is absolutely correct and is going to be missed.
i agree with him northview dont get anything, just bc thier a smaller school so wat they still going to win wit or wit out a field house and HE DID NOT LEAVE BC THERE WASNT A FEILD HOUSE
This end of the county has been treated like the armpit for many, many years. This is not a knew issue. The issue is not why did PHS get a new field house, but why were they allowed to go almost double over budget? That must be one FINE fieldhouse for $5 million! I am sure that Northview High School would be pleased to have a “mediocre” field house as compared to that.
Of course he didn’t leave NHS bc the lack of a field house, the article is pretty clear on that to me. He left to be close to his son and daughter who work in Southeast Alabama. Also in the other article it said his wife is from Montgomery, so the lack of a field house is a none issue in his leaving. And yes Chris you can “do just fine” in high school without a field house but those are the type things that hold a program back bc the kids need things to be proud of and take pride in, something they can call their own. NHS deserves to be treated better by the school district and that’s the bottom line in this article! I agree with him 100%, it’s an injustice that NHS is treated like a red headed step child only bc it’s a rural school!!! Our kids work hard and they deserve the best. Coach Keene will be missed in the community, he really cared for the kids and fought for them in many ways.
We made it through high school at NHS without a field house just fine. The football team even had/have? their own locker room. With all the cut backs at schools I think they could find something better to complain about.
So you left because there is no field house????