School officials give track thumbs up despite small
imperfections
A few concerns were raised over Live Oak’s new all purpose track that recently was cleared for use. But Sobrato Planning Principle Rich Knapp, the former Live Oak principal, said the track is up to standards and is ready to go.
There are three problems with the track, Knapp said. When the covering on the track was laid down, it only went three lanes at a time. As a result, there is a small ridge after the third lane.
There is also a small area where it is noticeable where they started and stopped.
The third problem is at the exit and entrance gate where the asphalt is a different density.
“None of these affect the track in terms of its performance,” Knapp said. “You will find imperfections on all the tracks put in. To fix it, they would have to strip off the whole track. They can cut it out and lay it down again, but it will be worse than what is there. They are not serious issues.”
The track has already been used a lot since it was broken in during the first ever Live Oak track camp at the end of July.
“As soon as the camp was over, people were on the track,” said track and cross country coach Dean Raymond. “It needs to be up to specs because records may not be counted otherwise, and we got several kids coming up in the near future that have potential to set records.”
Looking out over the track, it is almost impossible to notice the imperfections, and they won’t affect any records set,” Knapp said.
“If you did a walk through on the track, you wouldn’t be able to notice anything,” Knapp said. “We did a walk through with the track company, and it took us about five minutes to find them. Will it affect the running? Not at all.”
Raymond was initially concerned that track was not up to the standards it should be at. But after talking with former Athletic Director Dennis Martin, he was a little more accepting.
“It is an A-minus B-plus track,” Raymond said. “It is not exactly what we like. Apparently when Dennis and Rich met with the contractors, they were told that to make some of these repairs would require making a cut on the track, and whenever you do so, you don’t have a full seal afterwards so water and dirt can seep in.”
Although Raymond still had a few qualms with the track, he acknowledged that it is safe for runners.
“Yeah we would like an A-plus track and yeah we paid for an A-plus track,” Raymond said. “But as I was told, most if not all tracks have these blemishes. I have to talk with other track coaches to find out how their tracks turned out.”
“I do know this – that I’ve never looked closer at a track than I have at this one because it is ours,” Raymond added. “The other tracks you just go on them and run.”
Even with the blemishes, the track is still one of the top facilities in the area.
“I was over at a couple other tracks, and our track is a much nicer track,” Knapp said. “The drainage is far superior, and the general layout of the track is better. I am real pleased with the quality of the product we got.”
There is still a little work that needs to be done on the shot put ring and on pole vault area, but Knapp said it will be taken care of before track begins in the spring.
“The attachments for the standards have to be set in concrete,” Knapp said. “So we have to cut into the asphalt for the concrete. We couldn’t do that until we knew what type of pole vault standards we bought. Another company is doing that, but it will be done before track season.”
Knapp said that as long as the track is properly maintained it should last 30 years. That means that the home coming parade will no longer be able to be held on the track like in previous years.
“We would like to have people run on just the outer lanes,” Knapp said. “We are trying to keep just one gate open so there is a minimum chance of things like cars getting on the track that can damage it. Our biggest concern is people coming across it with cleats.”
During the football season, the track will have a temporary protective surface over it so it will not be damaged.
The renovations to the track, which also included the football field, had a final cost of about one million dollars, Knapp said, with the track portion being less than half of the total cost. The project was funded through money from a bond and also from the previous Measure B.
The goal posts had to be pulled out and raised to proper height. They both were low, and ne was off three and a half feet from the center and the other was off a foot and half off.
There is also a new perimeter irrigation system in the field and a visible French drain that runs around the football field and track so the area won’t turn into a pond during the rainy season.
Under the field and track, conduit wires were placed for new timing systems for track and a new public address system to be added at a later date. The preparations were made for the eventual move of the scoreboard as well.
“It is a little more than originally budgeted because we did some things that weren’t in the original contract, Knapp said. “We put the extra conduits in because we realized that if we didn’t do it now, we could never upgrade the systems like we wanted. We had to plan for the future.”
New ramps were installed on each side of the stands to make them handicap accessible to comply with state regulations. Safety rails were added. Also added was a concrete retaining wall at the far end on the visitor’s side to keep the dirt from washing back onto the field.
The dirt was placed at the far end of the football field, adding a contour to allow better drainage and to allow people more comfort when sitting on the grass to watch games.
Additional modifications with the irrigation system were added that were not originally planed, making it a complete loop system for better quality.
Knapp said that when Sobrato is built, plans are for it to have a football field but not a stadium because of the added expense. If that is the case, only freshman games and soccer games will be able to be played there.
“It (the facility at Live Oak) will be the district’s football stadium, and it will be our official track,” Knapp said. “With its nine lanes, it is designed to hold regional meets. We hope to also host league finals. Sobrato will probably be built with an eight-lane track.”
Note: There are currently about a dozen athletes trying out for the cross country team. Coach Raymond hopes once school starts, that number will increase. He invites any athlete including freshmen at Britton or Murphy to try out for the team. Practices start at 6:30 a.m. all this week and run about an hour.
