Combing Through The Field There Are Plenty Of Ideas For Names Of Facilities

Now that the new outdoor sports complex at Coeur d’Alene High School is busy with activity it seems an appropriate time to consider names for the athletic facilities at both high schools.

The Coeur d’Alene School Board last week adopted a policy spelling out the criteria for nominating and naming facilities.

At the same time the board named the two soccer fields at Lake City the Irma Anderl Soccer Complex in honor of the former school board member and longtime resident who founded the Coeur d’Alene Youth Soccer Club and the Coeur d’Alene High boys and girls programs in the early 1980s.

Just two other facilities in the district have names. The football field and gym at Coeur d’Alene are named in honor of former CdA High principal Harold Evans. The board has established that athletic facility names shall be of two types of combinations:

Historic, geographic or locational names that have meaning or significance (example: Fernan Elementary).

Honorific names which recognize an individual, family, group or organization (example: Harold Evans).

The criteria the board will use in considering names are:

Extraordinary service to the school district as a member of the faculty, staff or as a volunteer.

Significant financial contributions to the construction or renovation of a facility or to some program or project which is part of the mission of the district.

The board also determined that facilities shall not be named for current employees of the district and may only be named for former employees who have left employment for a minimum of five years or who are deceased.

Superintendent Doug Cresswell said nominations should be submitted in writing along with a rationale for such name.

Here are some names that possibly could be nominated.

Coeur d’Alene

Every policy has an exception, and to name the new softball field after the appropriate person would require an exception.

CdA athletic director Larry Schwenke was the architect of the top slowpitch softball program in Idaho. His teams won 13 straight A-1 championships. He also spearheaded the drive to change from slowpitch to fastpitch.

And nobody has spent as much time raking rocks and prodding the grass to grow at the south-end field expansion as Schwenke. And if the board won’t make an exception for a current employee, then it should refrain from accepting any names for the softball field until Schwenke has retired from the district.

Another exception should be considered for the baseball field. It should be named Ted Page Field after the man who coached the sport for 20 years before resigning two years ago. He threw out the ceremonial first pitch when the first game was played on the field last week.

The name of former CdA football coach Herb Criner or one of CdA’s favorite sons, John Friesz, might be considered as a stadium name at Harold Evans Field.

And how about expanding the gym name to Elmer Jordan Court at Harold Evans Gym? Jordan, inducted last fall into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame, coached 23 years and compiled a 425-183 record and two state championships. He resides in the area and remains active in private business.

Lake City

Possible names for the facilities at the second-year school could honor familiar names of past and present area athletes, coaches and umpires.

The gym: How about Don Haynes, retired basketball coach whose teams at Coeur d’Alene, Kellogg, Lewis and Clark in Spokane and assorted other stops in his storied career won more than 500 games.

Or how does the name of CdA native Don Monson grab you?

Baseball field: KVNI sports broadcaster Jeff McLean affectionately dubbed the rough LC field the Rock Quarry. Other names could include Rocky Bridges, Edinger (after the trio of umpiring brothers) or Dick Raymond, after another popular retired umpire.

Softball field: This is a natural. Red Halpern, the longtime state ASA commissioner and member of the national ASA board.

Football field: Friesz may have been a Viking, but we doubt LC boosters would be offended with such a nomination.

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