Amazing Texas trip

In his next life, Falcon coach Louie Walters may want to come back as a travel agent, because these out-of-state trips that he does for the football team are hugely enjoyable for the players and parents in addition to being good for the team. While Walters got the idea of tough early-season scheduling from SLV's Doug Morris, Morris himself and others in the area are now realizing the benefits of Walters' cross-country travelling for team-building, giving the players something important to focus on in the offseason and more.

Not only did everyone get to tour the legendary King Ranch -- which at one point was larger than the state of Rhode Island -- and the World War II aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lexington in addition to watching a truly memorable "Friday Night Lights" football game, but the hospitality of Alice, Texas left it's mark on virtually everybody from Scotts Valley who went. The Alice team hosted a dinner for all the Scotts Valley folks that was attended by about 500 people -- the Mayor of Alice attended and read from Scotts Valley Mayor Johnson's jokingly trash-talking letter predicting a Falcon win, the local District Attorney, and it seemed like everybody else in Alice. One of Alice's three high school bands serenaded the crowd over a delicious meal, and it sounds like an amazing time was had by all.

As you can imagine, the logistics of raising the money and coordinating 130+ people travelling from California to Texas were daunting in the extreme. Team mom Sheri Dean estimates she spent at least ten hours per week organizing the trip since February, but she modestly said that paled in comparison to all the hours that others put into the effort. When you realize that $50,000 was raised for the trip, that each player on the team was responsible for raising $850 by selling coupon books, the lift-a-thon, working at car washes and the like, you start to understand the scope of planning and execution involved in an endeavor like this.

Walters said several in Alice talked about possibly travelling to Scotts Valley next year for a re-match, which Louie said he'd love to do. It's hard to imagine what all the Alice players, coaches, fans and parents would think at seeing the Scotts Valley's facilities, however. Alice has three full-time groundskeepers who do nothing but tend to the turf on their stadium field, which has individual seating assignments and season tickets. And some of the folks in Alice were apologizing for the state of their facility, assuring their Scotts Valley visitors that they plan to replace their 10,000 bleacher seats soon with something nicer!

There's a group in Scotts Valley that's starting to raise money and awareness of the need for better athletic facilities at the campus, given the horrible drainage problems up there that partially relate to flawed construction when the fields was built. If you're interested in helping with this important effort, e-mail SVHSSportsplex@aol.com and get involved!