Host of locals help with new SHS softball field
<p>Pictured from left to right are Jeff Johnson, Tom Albertson, Kris Knowles, Gary Lambert, Matt Diel, Jay VanDenBerg and Bob Witte, braving a hailstorm during the new softball field dedication at Sandpoint Middle School on Tuesday. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)</p>
SANDPOINT — Thanks to the efforts of a host of Sandpoint community members, the Sandpoint softball team has a brand-new, beautiful field to play on at Sandpoint Middle School.
A handful of those most instrumental in the field being built were on hand Tuesday to throw out the first pitch during a field dedication before the doubleheader against Priest River.
The construction of the field was a team effort between former SHS athletic director Tom Albertson and current AD Kris Knowles, Dave DeMers and Kim Keaton from Sandpoint Middle School, head groundskeeper Gary Lambert, facility director Matt Diel, Bulldog Bench members Jay VanDenBerg and Bob Witte, and local field magician Jeff Johnson.
Albertson praised the effort of Johnson, who volunteers untold hours to keep several local diamonds in pristine condition.
“It wouldn’t have happened without him,” said Albertson of Johnson. “He has extreme attention to detail, and went above and beyond. We had an idea, and he ran with it.”
Johnson, whose handiwork can be seen on manicured fields all over Sandpoint, also gave the Pine St. baseball field a facelift in the last couple of years. With the completion of the new softball field, which doesn’t yet have an official name, fans can now watch SHS varsity baseball and softball from essentially the same complex.
Johnson calls fixing fields a hobby, and has also remade the field by the Seventh-day Adventist Church into a nice gem. He remembers when Albertson first approached him about the possibility of a new softball field at SMS.
“He said ‘can it be done?’” recalled Johnson. “Tom had the vision, and Matt (Diel) stepped up and said ‘OK, I’ll help.’ I’ve had a couple of teachers say it’s a nice addition to the school.”