| Omaha
World-Herald
August
15,2005
Omaha
Central’s football players were more eager
than normal today for the start of the first day
of football practice. Finally, they could use
the schools’ new Seemann Stadium. It has
a Sprinturf playing field, a four-lane, 350-meter
track and 5,500 seats.
“I
was a little angry,” senior lineman D.J.
Jones said. “I got here at 7 o’clock.
Practice started at 7:30, and I wasn’t the
first person here. I wanted to get on the field.
I walked on it, and it’s really nice.”
Gransen
Falkner, another senior, said he “stared
at it all day” when he was at school this
summer for workouts. Practices began today for
most high school teams across the state in the
seven fall sports – football, volleyball,
softball, boys and girls cross country, girls
golf and boys tennis. Some football teams –
22 in all – began practice a week ago in
advance of their opening games on Aug. 25 or 26.
Central
hadn’t had a home field of its own for decades.
It shared Bergquist Stadium at Norris Middle School
with South High School since the 1960s. Nor did
the school have a practice field or track until
a 1981 land swap with Joslyn Art Museum made room
for the city’s first artificial-turf field.
For
the past three years, Eagles coach Joe McMenamin
held practices on dirt fields at Conestoga Magnet
School, Kellom Grade School or the Boys and Girls
Club field on Hamilton Street. It meant 150 boys
boarding buses every day with all of their practice
gear.
No
one will miss those days. “This is amazing,”
Falkner said. “I’m just happy, after
all the days we’ve been through with fields
and stuff, to finally have something of our own.”
Falkner
said he hadn’t been on turf fields very
much. “It feels good when you run on the
Sprinturf. It’s soft on your ankles,”
he said. It’s not like the hard stuff. We
used to practice on dirt. This feels bouncy and
soft.”
McMenamin,
who has been at Central for 28 years and head
coach for 16 years, said the field turned out
to be better than he envisioned.
“This
is Christmas in August,” he said. “It
was nice coming right out of the building and
being able to practice this morning. Everything
was done first class. The field has nice traction
and the way they set the surroundings, it has
a great atmosphere. I think it’s going to
be a really nice stadium to play in.”
The
school will hold a dedication ceremony at 8pm
on Sunday. The Eagles’ first home game is
Sept. 2 against Omaha North.
“It’s
the first game and a rivalry game, too,”
said Jones, who has committed to Nebraska. “It
will be nice to have all our fans and alumni here.”
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