Tolton Catholic ‘Blazers — Game On!’ campaign under way to upgrade sports facilities, bring home games home

It’s going to elevate the spirit of the school.”

Daniel Everett Ed.D., president and principal, Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School

The end is in sight.

A drive to complete the final phase of construction at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia is under way.

“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” said Patrick Kelly, the school’s vice principal and athletic and activities director. “It’s going to benefit so many of our student athletes, and it’s a great thing for our community as a whole.”

He was referring to the Blazers — Game On! campaign (blazers-game-on.org) to build new outdoor athletics and activities complex on the Tolton Catholic school property at 3351 E. Gans Road.

The estimated $8 million phased project will include installing artificial turf on the football and soccer field, a durable, soft-surface, eight-lane 400-meter track, facilities for track and field events, and an updated scoreboard and public-address system.

It will also include renovating the baseball and softball field in keeping with statewide standards for high-school sports; installing artificial turf in the infield and outfield; building a combination press box/concession stand, rest rooms and a scouting room; renovating the dugouts; and installing field lights and spectator bleachers.

The project will be paid for entirely by donors. No tuition or diocesan money will be used for it.

Ground-breaking is contingent on the completion of fundraising.

Daniel Everett Ed.D., president and principal of Tolton Catholic, said about half of the money has already been pledged.

Furthermore, a generous donor is matching individual contributions up to $50,000.

“So, if you were able to give $10,000, that turns into $20,000,” Dr. Everett stated in an interview with Tolton Catholic junior Addison Drinkwitz. “If you were able to give $50,000, it doubles up to $100,000.”

A needed lift

Students from various sports and activities have their favorite parts of the project in mind.

Track athletes talked about what it will feel like to run on a reliable, all-weather surface. Soccer and football players imagined practicing and competing on a level field that holds up through a full season.

Baseball and softball players loved the thought of having ready-to-play fields with lights on campus.

The idea of spending less time loading up and traveling, and more time on the field, was also a clear favorite.

Cheer and dance students look forward to performing under Friday night lights without gravel or uneven ground.

Band members shared how helpful it will be to have steady surfaces for stands and chairs so they can focus on their music.

Other students talked about how much better outdoor competitions, field-day traditions, and big school celebrations will be with these upgraded spaces.

Dr. Everett said the project won’t just lift the fields out of where standing water collects.

“It’s going to elevate the spirit of the school,” he said.

Home field

Mr. Kelly noted that limitations in the school’s current facilities often require games and practices to be held off-campus.

One problem is the lack of a drainage system on the football/soccer field.

“Sometimes we’ve had to relocate practices not because it’s raining that day but because it rained three or four days ago,” he stated.

A lack of adequate facilities for some sports requires all of their practices to take place at other sites. This, Dr. Everett noted, is a safety concern.

“The fact that a lot of our sports will be able to practice and have their competitions here on campus will make a really big difference,” he said.

And not just for a few sports.

“Twelve sports and many other activities are set to benefit from this campaign,” said Mr. Kelly.

“Soccer, football, baseball, softball, track and field, band, cheer, dance, house events and alumni and community activities — everyone’s going to be able to use this, and that will make life so much easier,” he said.

He noted that in recent years, the Trailblazers varsity baseball team and girls’ varsity softball team both won the state title for their classifications.

In both instances, Tolton Catholic could not host the home games at which both teams qualified to play for the state title.

“With upgraded facilities, we’ll be able to host these big, memorable games on our campus, and those memories that the kids and their parents and their families would all be here at our facility.” said Dr. Everett.

Crowds will be larger with games played on campus.

“Hosting the home game, you’ll have home-field advantage,” said Mr. Kelly.

“Where I belong”

Dr. Everett said the upgraded facilities will bring more life to the campus and give Tolton Catholic students one more thing to be proud of.

“This is going to give us a place for students to really fall in love with the school, to make memories, to have an awesome experience,” he said.

“It’ll be a better environment for our community because it will all be here,” he stated. “Having that exciting game is amazing, but having that exciting game on a brand-new football field or softball field that’s yours, you have the feeling of ‘this is where I belong.’”

Since Tolton Catholic opened in 2011, its sports teams have brought home over 70 team and individual state championships and over 60 district titles.

“And this has happened with not-the-best of facilities,” said Mr. Kelly. “I’ve always wondered how much better we could be doing if we had a top-of-the-line facility?”

Dr. Everett looks forward to the growth and development the new facilities will allow for future teams, along with their effect on daily campus life and esprit de corps and on other Catholic schools in the area.

“Think of arriving on campus on a random afternoon, the sun starting to set, and there are students out on the track, out on the field, over on the other side of the field doing shotput, whatever it is,” he said.

It will also be a source of pride for Tolton Catholic alumni who want the school to be even better for their children and grandchildren.

“I see these facilities as a place for our students to make memories,” said Dr. Everett, “that they’re going to come back 20 years from now and tell their kids, ‘See that? There’s where I scored the touchdown that won the game.’”

Visit blazers-game-on.org/project-updates for more information.