No pool on campus leaves some sports teams isolated

By Sam Ault,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Of all the sports teams at Davis High, only the the swim, golf and water polo teams are forced to play away from campus– two miles away, to be exact, at Arroyo Pool in West Davis.

For years, DHS aquatic teams used Community Pool, conveniently located right next to campus. By 2001, however, Community Pool had become too small and outdated for the growing teams, so the Blue Devils made the move to the recently completed Arroyo facility. Many aquatic athletes are not fans of the distance.

“It’s rather inconvenient to travel from school to another pool when we could have one on campus,” men’s varsity water polo player and junior Matthew Martin said. “I have to bike everywhere and biking to Arroyo makes it an even longer ride home.”

Martin lives in South Davis, which makes the trek even longer.

Sophomore teammate Nate Stoltz agreed that it is challenging to get to the pool from campus. He wishes there was a pool on campus because “you wouldn’t have to travel super far to get to the pool.”

According to the water polo coach Tracy Stapleton, the increased travel is not the only problem with an off-campus pool. The relatively remote location not only creates a sense of physical isolation, but also a feeling of emotional isolation from school spirit.

“There’s a sense of being part of the school [when you play on campus],” Stapleton said. “Right now […] it’s almost like you are not even a school sport. It’s almost like you are a club sport.”

Martin agrees saying it would be “way better for home games” if the water polo team played on campus.

“It would be awesome to play at a pool on-campus,” Martin said.

Senior swimmer Scott Soderquist doesn’t think it matters where the pool is located.

“If there was a pool on the moon and a pool on campus I think the same amount of people would come. Swimming is boring [to watch] and even less fun for the swimmer,” Soderquist said.

Even still, Soderquist agrees that he would “appreciate a pool closer to school.”

No steps have been taken to install an on-campus pool.

Stapleton has been trying to improve the pool situation for years.

“There’s been talk about having a pool on-campus but there’s never been any kind of formal program,” Stapleton said. “I don’t know of any other school that doesn’t have [an on-campus pool].”

Del Oro High School, with a combined men’s and women’s water polo record of 6-22, recently built a $2.3 million pool on their campus. Davis, on the other hand, has a combined 27 section titles, but no pool.

“I would like there to be a pool on campus, but it’s probably not financially possible,” junior swimmer Dylan Beck said.

The issue of cost does seem to be the largest roadblock in the path to an on-campus pool. The Blue Devil aquatic program, as Stapleton joked, is “soliciting six-figure donations.”

Despite the high price tag, there’s still hope that some sort of on campus facility can be built. For now, however, DHS swimmers and water polo players will just have to make do.

“Is it ideal? No. Not even close,” Stapleton said. “It’s adequate is what it is.”