Gift of new field paves way to state championship for Illinois team
Gift-giving remains one of the most popular holiday traditions across cultures and geography. Gifts can be thoughtful and practical, silly and outlandish, or anywhere in between. However, the best kind of gift is the one that makes the biggest impact in the life of its recipient.
Immaculate Conception (IC) Catholic Prep (Elmhurst, Ill.) received that exact sort of gift in 2012, when USA Football and FieldTurf awarded the Chicago-area school a $50,000 voucher toward a new field.
The gift allowed IC Catholic Prep to replace its dirt fields, which took a beating playing home to the school’s numerous sports teams.
“Our previous facilities were grass and we had challenges of keeping the field in good condition with the number of sports that played on the field,” IC Catholic Prep athletic director Tom Schergen told USA Football.
The $50,000 grant, combined with the funds that the school raised for the project, made the new field a reality. The school held a groundbreaking ceremony, with construction beginning in the spring and ending on time, before the start of the fall season.
When the field was complete, the school held another ceremony, this one celebrating the new field before it played host to its very first game.
“Community support was very high,” Schergen said.
Fifty teams and more than 1,000 total students now use the field during the course of the school year, including sports that the school did not originally expect to utilize the field.
“We have used it for softball and cross country, which we definitely didn’t anticipate,” Schergen said.
The advantages for the school’s athletic programs were as much mental as they were physical.
"It gives a new feeling to our athletic program," said one football player when the field was first installed. "On artificial turf I feel I can go a lot faster. Even when it's wet, it's better than grass that gets muddy."
The field, which was something IC Catholic Prep had sought since 2007, made its debut in the fall of 2013. Since then, lights have been added, allowing for the community to experience Friday night lights.
And what an experience it’s been. IC Catholic Prep won a combined 10 games in 2013 and 2014 before posting an 11-2 record in 2015. But this fall was simply special.
IC Catholic Prep was dominant from start to finish, posting a record of 14-0 and capturing an Illinois Class 3A state title. It was the program’s first championship since 2008.
It was also the first state title since it received the gift that helped it install its new field.