MONTEREY — Through a maze of players practicing in the twilight, a soccer ball squirts free.
Taking advantage of a rare late afternoon when his girls’ soccer team has the entire field to themselves, Monterey High coach John Licea tries to make the most out of every minute of light left in the short day.
Yet, toward the end of practice, players repeatedly shout, “I can’t see the ball.”
“We can’t get the work in we need to do,” senior goalkeeper/midfielder Kayla Silva says. “It affects our team, our confidence. It lowers our self-esteem.”
When finding the ball became a safety issue because of the impending darkness, practice was halted after just 88 minutes. If darkness wasn’t an issue, practice would normally last about two hours.
Without a lighted field, the soccer teams at Monterey High have always had challenges squeezing in full practices during the shortened daylight hours of late fall and winter. This school year it has become an even bigger challenge, as the school is following a state mandate with the academic day starting and ending later (8:30 a.m.-3:25 p.m.). That means after-school activities, such as soccer, start later.
In July 2021, the Monterey Peninsula Union School District approved a project to, among other things, add lights to the Monterey High football stadium and another multi-use field to the campus. But lawsuits that cite noise and lighting impacts on the surrounding residential neighborhoods have delayed the project.
“Part of the holistic experience in high school is athletics,” Monterey Principal Tom Newton said. “A small group of people are robbing our students of a facility upgrade.”
Monterey going through a soccer practice as the sky darkens pic.twitter.com/QbFmNwbUUv
— John Devine (@JohnJDevine) November 30, 2022
No one has been affected more by the delay than the Monterey High soccer programs. Their seasons run from November to February, during the shortest days of the year.
“If you don’t have what you need, you have to adjust to what you have and do the best job you can,” Monterey boys soccer coach Christian Ramos said. “But I can’t teach them what I’d like to teach them.”
Part of the expansion of the sports facilities at Monterey would include a new turf field below the stadium that would be big enough to host field hockey and softball games, as well as serve as a second practice field for soccer. The boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior varsity soccer teams currently share the stadium field with the football team, whose season just ended. Before soccer season started, the football teams were sharing the field with the field hockey team.
One of the reasons Monterey doesn’t have a freshman football team is because of a lack of practice space.
“We need more training space,” Licea says. “At least put the field down that was approved for us.”
But because all the renovations are in one project plan, none of it can begin until a settlement is reached.
The soccer teams could practice at nearby parks, but coaches worry about player safety, citing uneven surfaces, including gopher holes in the field.
“I won’t do it,” Licea said. “I’m not going to lose a kid to a preventable injury. It’s hard when you’re trying to build a program. It’s hard to develop a kid under these conditions. It has been challenging coming up with a successful answer.”
Neighbors in the area have expressed concern about light pollution, noise and traffic from evening events, as well as environmental concerns. The school and the district have suggested compromises, but the two sides remain far apart.
“We have agreed to mitigating efforts with the lights,” Newton said. “That wasn’t good enough. It’s absurd.”
Monterey has brought in portable lights in the past to host football games. But the noise from the generators, the gas fumes and inadequate lighting ended that experiment.
Monterey, Stevenson and Carmel are the only three high schools in the county that don’t have lights for their stadiums. Carmel Unified School District Board passed a measure Tuesday by a 5-0 count to install lights at Carmel High.
Practicing in the twilight daily, Monterey has outscored its first two opponents 8-0 pic.twitter.com/XAEvjifFBm
— John Devine (@JohnJDevine) November 30, 2022
To try and adjust, Licea has taken two potential scrimmages and two non-league matches off his schedule, leaving Monterey with just 18 games. His feeling is his squad is not prepared three weeks into the season because he didn’t even have an entire field for practice until school was out for Thanksgiving break.
“Soccer is a sport where you need to understand each other on the field,” goalkeeper/midfielder Silva said. “You need to be able to trust each other. With limited time, it’s hard to build that connection.”
Licea believes his program – even with the loss of two starters before its first game to injuries – can be competitive. But less than 90-minute practices with half a field makes teaching a struggle.
“Sometimes all I can do is technical work,” Licea said. “There are certain things you can’t work on. You need to use the width of the field. No question it is hurting our development.’’
In an effort to have a home game, Monterey has moved start times up to 3 p.m., meaning kids are missing their final class to get ready. A game takes roughly 90 minutes, leaving the JV teams not much time before sunset to get in their game.
“We won’t play our JV game next week because there just won’t be enough light this time of the year,” Licea said. “The sun is setting at 4:52.”
In order for his JV boys program to get in a full match, Ramos has scheduled most of his non-league matches on the road.
“These people in the neighborhood don’t understand how they are affecting sports, which I believe is part of the education process,” said Ramos, whose team is off to a 1-1 start. “Practice is when kids learn the most. Sometimes we go until we cannot see the ball.”
