Recently, the UVF Athletics Department was blessed with the opportunity to partner with local organization Phoenixville Area Soccer Club (PASC) to fund the turfing of UVF’s indoor gym in Capeci Hall. This partnership is a brilliant way to connect with the community and increase the credibility of UVF’s Athletics department, namely the baseball and softball teams who are able to use the indoor turf gym for practice during the colder months.
This opportunity came about through Ryan Gottier, UVF’s Director of Sport Management program. Gottier is also the director of the PASC, who was desperate to find an area for their players to practice, specifically an indoor space. Seeing as how UVF has two gym locations on campus, PASC reached out with the suggestion of paying to potentially turfing one of them to make an indoor field in exchange for the ability to host their own practices in the space as well. Seeing as how turfing an indoor field of that size would be around $40,000, the partnership was very appealing and exciting for everyone involved. UVF Athletics Department and the soccer club agreed to a 5-year deal in which PASC would be able to use both the turf gym and UVF’s main gym 32 hours a week on evenings and weekends in exchange for paying for the turf – what a blessing!
“As a Director of Athletics, I am always looking for opportunities to partner with others to enhance our student-athlete experience. When Phoenixville Area Soccer Club found out we were exploring the possibility of installing artificial turf, the Club’s staff quickly reached out to me to offer their assistance. Without their partnership, we wouldn’t have been able to do this project as quickly as we did. Our new indoor turf field will not only elevate our varsity sports, it will also be a space for intramurals for the University. We are very appreciative of Phoenixville Area Soccer Club and look forward to our partnership over the next few years,” said Gretchen LeVan
Not only is the new indoor turf field an amazing resource for the community through PASC and all UVF’s sports teams, but it impacts everyone else on campus as well through intramural sports that will also get to take place in this new space. The new field is also great for recruiting for UVF’s baseball team. The current players are training hard for the start of the spring season and are thrilled about the new turf. When asked about it, baseball player and junior at UVF Kasey Baumgart said, “I know of some D1 schools that don’t have a facility near this caliber; it’s a great place for us to get our work in and progress our game.”
The coaches and student athletes all came together and decided the name of the new indoor turf field should be called “The Forge” since a forge is a place where iron sharpens iron, and this field is a place where teammates will sharpen teammates and focus on the concentrated effort of forming something special. We look forward to seeing the stories of growth and connection that will come from this partnership and the blessing of this new indoor turf field.
