Football teams facing darkness

With the end of daylight saving time just around the corner, the

blinds are lowering on six Costa Mesa Pop Warner teams.Mesa Pop

Warner Executive Board Member Ron Nugent said six teams -- 158

players -- share two soccer fields at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

But with only two lighted fields, and the days ending earlier, they

will need to relocate soon, with no future site in sight.

In the adjacent field, two soccer teams share the same amount of

space.

With a limited number of lighted fields available in Costa Mesa

because of renovation, the Pop Warner teams are in search of a new

practice field.

According to Pop Warner rules, a team must practice for a minimum

of six hours a week in order to compete in games on Saturday. This

presents a problem for the teams, which have lost about an hour of

practice time every week due to lighting issues.

The teams were directed to TeWinkle School and Davis Field by the

Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Department. The opening at Davis

Field was from 4:30 to 6:15 p.m., conflicting with the schedules of

half the coaches, who are unable to arrive until after 5 p.m.

The teams will begin practice at TeWinkle School Wednesdays and

Thursdays, despite a Pop Warner rule which suggests no team practices

within 24 hours of a game.

In search of a solution is Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley.

“I am 100% supportive of finding more lit fields,” she said.

Foley, who is fighting for a multi-sports stadium at Estancia High

and an aquatics center at Costa Mesa High, said the city is awaiting

an approval -- hopefully in the next few months -- from the state of

California that would bring four to six additional fields with

permanent lighting throughout Costa Mesa, including the addition of

utility fields near the Fairview Developmental Center.

Nugent said Foley has also contacted colleges, including Orange

Coast College, where the teams could potentially practice.

“Katrina got [OCC] in contact with us,” Nugent said. “They’re

working with us, and they’re really great.”

Another councilmember involved is Costa Mesa Mayor Pro-Tem Gary

Monahan. Nugent said Monahan volunteered to hold a fundraiser for the

league at his Costa Mesa restaurant, Skosh Monahan’s Steakhouse.

“They [Foley and Monahan] really opened doors for us,” League

President Brian Gowdy said.

In the meantime, in order to avoid forfeits and fines, Costa Mesa

Pop Warner will have to raise money to pay for the use of lighted

fields elsewhere.

According to Pop Warner rules, if a team doesn’t get the minimum

six hours of practice time in, the coach is suspended for a week,

they must forfeit the game, and pay a $350 fine per team. This

amounts to more than $2,000 for the six teams, ranging from 5- to

14-years-olds.

Nugent said parents have volunteered to purchase portable lights

for roughly $10,000, but the city has rejected the move, saying the

lights leak oil and become a hazard when children climb on them.

Foley said she has been talking with the Coast Community College

District, which has “been very responsive to let us use the fields

[at OCC].”

Today, Foley will meet with OCC to discuss plans to allow the

teams to use the field.

On the heels of the o7Daily Pilot f7youth sports summer series,

parents and supporters of the non-profit organization are preparing

to fundraise to give the teams needed practice time.

“For now we’re using up the funds we have left, then we’re going

to have to start raising money,” Nugent said.

“This is a really big deal to us. It’s our kids.”