Coach Michael Bates, Steve Campbell discuss condition of tennis courts
The St. Bonaventure University outdoor tennis courts have been through a fair amount of wear and tear over the years, and a lot of that has to do with the winter weather and usage of the courts. Head coach of the St. Bonaventure mens’ and womens’ tennis team, Michael Bates, along with Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations, Steve Campbell, spoke about the outdoor tennis courts condition.
Bates admits that the conditions of the outdoor courts aren’t perfect, but the team is lucky to have their own facility, along with an indoor facility that allows for training.
“I think the outdoor courts are in a perfect location,” said Bates. “We have six courts that are spaced out really well. It obviously needs a little bit of resurfacing. There’s some cracks in it, but it’s tough to keep up with it because of the winter weather. We also have four indoor courts, and those could also use a little work. We’re lucky to have the indoor courts, because without those, we’d be in trouble. A lot of schools don’t have their own indoor facilities, and it allows us to practice and train whenever we want. It is a nice benefit for us.”
As far as injury hazards on the outdoor courts, Bates didn’t express too much concern.
“I don’t think there are too many injury hazards,” said Bates. “There are some cracks on the outdoor courts, but because of the weather, we only play outdoors during September, October and April if we are lucky. The court surface gets a little slick when it’s worn down, so that’s what’s happened. Usually you get resurfaced courts every four to five years, but it’s probably been 10, maybe 12 years since our courts were resurfaced.”
Bates also believes that the condition of the courts has no effect on the overall morale of his program.
“I think our players are used to it,” Bates said. “Especially the upperclassmen. For the freshmen, it may be a little bit of a challenge. As far as the indoor facility, most of my freshmen have never played indoors before, so they’re not used to it at all. They adapt to it and they move right along. I don’t think any of my players are really worried about the facilities at all.”
While Campbell acknowledges that the outdoor tennis courts could use a face lift, he also points out that more than just one facility needs improvements.
“Certainly the tennis courts aren’t the only facility that needs to be addressed,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of facilities that we are trying to enhance. I know that the tennis courts [outdoor] were cleaned a few years ago, but they are not far from needing to be resurfaced and other standard maintenance.”
Campbell admits that the outdoor courts could use some work, but he doesn’t see any changes coming in the near future. He also expressed that the athletic department is currently evaluating all of the athletic facilities.
“No, in this juncture, nothing has been discussed about making any changes,” Campbell said. “We are currently in the process of evaluating all of our athletic facilities, and looking to see what our biggest priorities are. A facility that multiple sports could also play into that discussion. Use the multipurpose field as an example; we have six sports that are playing on that surface. We have turf on three of our intercollegiate fields, which are utilized by some club sports as well.”
Campbell also said that weather and the utilization of the indoor space are a big reasons why there will be no immediate updates to the outdoor courts will be made.
“Courts take a beating due to the weather,” Campbell said. “Our courts aren’t utilized a tremendous amount. Our tennis team only really uses the outdoor courts in September, but the vast majority of the time our tennis team is practicing indoors from October through the entire spring season. The community uses the outdoor courts a little bit during the summer, but they’re also not paying the bills.”
By Mike Hogan, Sports Assignment Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
