Home isn't where the heart is

Do PPC athletes suffer from a lack of home fields?

Published 9/24/98

There's no place like home.

For many athletic teams, grueling practices and a unifying effort go a long way to determine whether or not a game is won or lost. However, one of the most decisive factors doesn't lie in the team itself.

It lies with the crowd.

Whether fans shout words of encouragement to cheer on their team or boo to let them know of a poor performance, the home field advantage a team has over its opponent is important in most organized sports.

This edge is so vital that teams will battle through an entire season just to get one playoff game at its home field.

Point Park College athletic teams aren't blessed with this luxury of home field advantage, and although some Point Park teams have home games located down the street from the college, other teams have to travel to adjacent counties in order to have a home game. And Point Park teams who bask in the friendly confines of a local gym or field may not be so lucky when the college switches to a new, larger athletic conference next year.

The men's soccer team is one group without a home. The squad has four home games in an 18-game schedule, and after playing its first two home games at Geneva College on Friday, Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 12, the Pioneers played at Geneva on Tuesday, Sept. 22. This time however, they played as the away team.

In addition, the soccer team isn't sure where its last two home games, on Thursday, Oct. 8, and Thursday, Oct. 13, will be played. Athletic Director and men's basketball Head Coach Bob Rager said he's hoping to get either Turner Field in Irwin or the McKeesport Soccer Complex as a home field.

Tony Barron, a Point Park senior who plays soccer and basketball, said the crowds at the soccer games aren't that large, citing a few friends and family members who are there cheering them on constantly.

The process of choosing a home field to play on is difficult, and Rager said the college isn't picking distant fields because they are cheaper.

"Availability is the first priority in choosing a field," Rager said, noting that one reason fields in the city aren't given to Point Park is because the city reserves those local fields for children.

Last year, the men's and women's basketball teams shared their home venues at the Community College of Allegheny County South's gymnasium in West Mifflin, about a 10-mile drive away from Point Park, according to a CCAC spokesperson. And last year, the women's softball team split its home games between the West Mifflin Social Club and South Park, which is about a half-hour drive from the college, according to a South Park spokesperson.

Senior Vicki Erdman, a member of the women's volleyball team, sees no lack of fan support. "It's usually good," Erdman said, whenever her team plays at home, which is located at the YWCA down the street from the college. And unlike the soccer team, the volleyball team has more home games: 10 out of a 23-game schedule.

Because of the short distance, the volleyball team has a better chance to attract more students. But another reason for its populated stands, Erdman said, is because of the friendship that the volleyball team has with the men's baseball team. Each group, Erdman said, attends the other's games to give encouragement.

"We go back and forth," Erdman said.

Although the encouragement is appreciated on both sides, the volleyball team has to travel a greater distance to cheer on the baseball team. Last year the baseball team played its home games at Pullman Park, located in Butler County, a 45-minute drive north of Pittsburgh.

Being in another county doesn't seem to bother the baseball team, though. Last year the team had an 11-0 record at home while playing 37 away games.

Although volleyball seems to be an exception to the athletic department in terms of local availability, that may soon change.

When Point Park leaves the Keystone-Empire Collegiate Conference to join the American Mideast Conference in the 1999-2000 school year, the volleyball team will have to play at another site when it hosts conference games.

According to Ed Meena, women's volleyball assistant coach and women's basketball head coach, the YWCA doesn't comply with AMC regulations. This will force Point Park to find a suitable gymnasium.

One problem with the YWCA gymnasium, Meena said, is that it doesn't have a scoreboard, which is required in the AMC. Another problem is the distance between the sidelines with the walls and stands, and the distance from the floor to the ceiling.

"When you play at home, there's an advantage," Meena said, referring to the non-regulation YWCA ceilings that he said would cause problems for opposing schools.

This move is necessary if Point park wants to be associated with the AMC, which is the largest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics-affiliated conference. It is not known yet where the team will play next year.

However, Meena said that when the volleyball team plays a non-AMC opponent, they would be allowed to use the YWCA gymnasium.

One solution to bring students to more athletic events, whether it is a home or away game, is to commute them with the school's vans.

Hal Minford, assistant men's basketball coach and women's softball head coach, said one problem with bringing students to the games is that nobody wants to drive the school vans to the games. Nevertheless, Minford believes the crowds are substantial.

"We pack it in for basketball," he said.

Last year, when the men's basketball team played at home, it posted a 7-1 record.

With the men's basketball team one win away from a repeat visit to the NAIA tournament last year, the baseball team's trip to the College World Series last summer and the current success of the soccer and volleyball teams, perhaps a home field advantage isn't needed.

"We go out every game and give it 100 percent," Chris Heh, a soccer player, said. "We don't feel like we have a home."

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