New high school beach volleyball courts open
The new Paso Robles High School beach volleyball courts.
Donations from communities helped with building
– Paso Robles High School recently opened new beach volleyball courts that are located opposite the main campus. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on March 23 and the courts are now in use for the spring season.
Prior to the new courts, the girls beach volleyball team practiced on different courts, including grass and river sand at Sherwood Park, which did not provide the same experience as playing on sand courts. In addition, safety became a concern for both students and parents due to the surrounding area. After approaching the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) with a request for approval of new local courts in October 2023, construction began the following month.
The PRHS girls beach volleyball team.
Community donations and sponsorships helped with building the courts; a total of $198,000 was raised from organizations, such as Advanced Concrete Construction, Paso Robles Waste & Recycle, Garrett Thiessen Construction, Borjon Auto Center, and more. The Bearcat Boosters donated $25,000 to the project. Physical donations of materials and labor were also given.
“We have a community who gets behind you when you need something and created an environment that is safe and adequate for student athletes…we had some huge contributors who did massive amounts of work…my heart lies in athletics. I do believe extracurricular activities like athletics, band, theater, FFA, [and] all of those programs create a positive outlook for students and they help them have focuses outside of their academics so that they can make it further without getting caught up in the negatives that life throws at you,” said beach volleyball head coach Vickie Werling, adding that the team is grateful to the PRJUSD for their cooperation and helpfulness with this project.
The girls beach volleyball team with their coaches.
This is the third year of competing for the PRHS girls beach volleyball team, which has 18 players. They ended the 2023 season undefeated in the CCAA Ocean League with the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) games approaching in the upcoming weeks.
