Da Vinci’s Wasted Land: Where’s the Soccer Field?
Since Da Vinci Wiseburn’s inception in early 2017, our school board has promised to build a field for soccer, instilling hope for more future sports activities and opportunities. Unfortunately, each year they have failed.
To this day, the new Da Vinci schools have spent millions of dollars on a 40,000 square-foot gymnasium and 13.8 million dollar aquatics center. The Daily Breeze stated, “A gymnasium, soccer field, and a $13.8 million shared aquatics center are on track to be completed by the end of June.”
In the aftermath of that statement, we still have yet to see the soccer field plan come to fruition. What lies there today, is a gated-off, dirt patch of land left for no use. Many students have been waiting for a soccer field since their first year at Da Vinci, and have now lost hope in their beloved field ever being built.
“I have been waiting for the field to be built since my freshman year… I was told it will be done when I come back as a sophomore,” said Makayla Wilson, captain of the women’s varsity soccer team. It has been four years since the promise and many seniors have let go of the idea of an on-campus field. She later explained, “I lost hope of it being built when I saw nothing was being done my sophomore year and when I saw more investments were being put towards other things at Da Vinci.”
Not only are there student complaints about not having a field but there are also concerns from the coaches on not having a field. Gerson Justiniano, varsity head coach for the Da Vinci women’s team, stated, “I would prefer… to have a better field for you girls, so you girls won’t be getting injured.”
Second coach, Inmer Citalan added his views and concerns when it comes to not having a field, “Better training, better plays, making plays that are game-like, that will help us on winning games.”
There are many downfalls to not having a field on-campus. When Juan Cervantes, Assistant Coach at the University of Los Angeles was asked about the benefits of having a field on campus he said, “The most important thing is safety. As Student-athletes…you are overseen by everyone else, there is a huge lens on every single action that you are doing, there are people who are waiting for the opportunities, and athletes always fall under endangerment from society, and the people, and pretty much you want to make sure your athletes are safe.”
Cervantes refers to falling under endangerment when he discussed the dangers of not having a field, “I mean you don’t know what some people are up to, you don’t want to get them into trouble, accidents, some of them are barely learning how to drive, they’re not that experienced, so anything that can be on campus, pretty much keeps everyone safe.” The liability and safety issue is the point Cervantes is making. The school would technically be at fault if a student was injured commuting to the field because a field is not provided on-campus.
The students just want to have a field, just to have some sense of a regular school. When will it happen? CEO Matthew Wunder said, “I will not give a specific or firm date because there are many factors that could delay construction… I would like to see construction begin next summer, but this is a target and not a commitment.”
Kamryn Washington • Oct 1, 2021 at 8:55 am
I really loved your article Yui because the field not being built is a big issue at our school that isn’t talked about enough. I am apart of the girls soccer team so I can say that the people at this school who play outdoor sports are very affected by not having an on campus field and it is even more frustrating when we see the indoor sports have such nice facilities. You should really start a student petition (I could definitely help) on getting a field. Or at least so that it can get started since it’s just been a big dirt patch for years. Some constructive feedback is that you could have interviewed athletes from more outdoor sports who need a field because it affects them too. This was a great read and I hope it can evoke some progress on our field!
Luciana Ali • Oct 1, 2021 at 8:54 am
Gaioi! I love your article! I think you did really well and you are a very strong writer! You brought up some very strong points that I didn’t think about. I think it is a very significant topic to talk about because it affects a lot of kids at DVC. Kids here definitely deserve a field to play on and the fact that they’ve been promised one for so long and nothing has been done is disappointing. You did really well!
Makayla Wilson • Sep 30, 2021 at 1:21 pm
I am super thankful for Yui interviewing me on my opinions. I have been wanting to see change of that “dirt patch” for myself to have a better game and practice play. This article was WELL said and it was stated properly. I enjoyed reading this article and quite frankly, it made me more angry that there is still nothing done. I feel as if the Da Vinci Community should come and support myself and the rest of my girls ON CAMPUS and not have to worry about traveling to play. The volleyball, basketball, and swim teams receive a LOT of support because all students and faculty members have to do is walk out of the school building and head to the swimming pool or gym area…why can’t we make that happen for the Girls Soccer Team and let’s not forget about the Track team. The soccer field was supposed to have a Track field around it so that track members do not have to travel either!! I completely understand Da Vinci is not the biggest athletic school, BUT if students are excelling in their respective sports, why not give them a space to continue to excel for themselves, and represent Da Vinci Athletics as a whole. I will forever thank Yui for bringing awareness to this topic as she is my Varsity goalie and she deserves a space to play as well!
Jenna Sosa • Sep 30, 2021 at 9:25 am
I love the topic you chose to write about. I can agree with the coaches and students on what they had to say about the school not having a field on-campus. When Coach Gerson Justiniano says “I would prefer… to have a better field for you girls, so you girls won’t be getting injured.” I agree with him because the field the girls usually practice on is very hard and has no grass for support. You can also easily get scratched up from all the dirt. It sucks knowing that they won’t start working on it until next summer and that it’s not a “commitment” to the school when it is easy and safe for the students.
Ryan Romero • Sep 30, 2021 at 9:19 am
I really enjoyed reading this article I thought that it was nice how you brought up how DVC broke many promises regarding the field that has nothing to offer. I feel that this was an especially fun article to write about because you are answering a question that has been at the back of many student’s minds for years. The interviews you had were very enjoyable to read and gave a lot of context as to how the team and its members felt. In all, I really enjoyed reading this article, please keep up the good work.
Katelyn Fuentes • Sep 30, 2021 at 9:03 am
Wow, first of all, Yui I loved your article, I was recently talking to a friend about said soccer field, and this really showed me a different perspective. I wasn’t fully aware that they have said a soccer field was going to be built. I was wondering about this and you answered everything for me. I do not find it very surprising that we are given empty promises. Our school isn’t like your regular High School in Los Angeles, we don’t even have a football team. I feel like this has really lowered our expectations and brought our hopes down, I really enjoyed what you had to say about the “soccer field”, I really loved that you even put in the interview of a soccer player and coaches, this really shows how necessary the soccer field is. Going back to what Gerson Justiniano stated “I would prefer… to have a better field for you girls, so you girls won’t be getting injured.” Many of those who play soccer on the Da Vinci team could get injured due to us not having our own field. Overall your structure and writing were amazing!
Ava Atkins • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:56 am
Your article is very informative and explained this issue very well. I knew that Da Vinci had been ignoring the complaints and taking no action on creating the soccer field, but I did not take into account the fact that it could potentially harm students to not have one on campus. The title really speaks for itself – it is completely wasted land, and I, like many others, have lost hope for this being changed, at least while I am still attending school here. It is really disappointing, especially with the fact that they spent so much money on the other sports centers here. I appreciate you speaking out on this issue and giving multiple viewpoints to the readers!
Dylan Guillory • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:54 am
I think this was a really intriguing article. I’m not a big fan of reading news articles, I enjoy watching and viewing them more so but the way you wrote this Gaioi was short, concise, and straight to the point so I didn’t get sidetracked or loose interest. Even though I don’t participate in any on campus sports I still feel as though I needed to hear this. I also feel passionate about our schools soccer team not having the same ability as say the basketball team to either practice nor have actual “home” games on campus which seems ridiculous since our soccer team is amazing and deserves the same opportunity to have students go and support the games without having to go to another school’s field and watch. Considering we go to Da Vinci we should be able to stay at Da Vinci for the soccer home games. The quotes you were able to collect really supported and helped us as readers understand multiple perspectives and views on this issue. This topic about our field should really be brought up more because girls soccer isn’t the only ones affected, also boys soccer, girls softball, boys baseball and so on. But I love that you were able to be one of the first to really bring up the issue and beautifully execute your article.
Troi Harvey • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:53 am
I really love the flow of this article. It makes the story that much more intriguing, from the quotes and transitions to the tone. This was a great story because this is such a big topic at Da Vinci, and I can tell that not having a field really impacts the students day to day life. You were very informative and provided readers with multiple sources of information. Most importantly since this article has been published the CEO and others in charge at Da Vinci schools can really see how this constant hope of having a field really affects their students.
Milan Saffold • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:52 am
Yui this was a great article and an important topic to many kids who also feel this needed to be talked about. You started off your article very strong, I liked the last sentence saying, “Unfortunately, each year they have failed. ” it really draws the reader in and shows everyone that this is something you are passionate about. I think you did extremely well on calling attention to all the work Da Vinci has done on other activities while saying they were going to focus on the field. Overall you wrote an amazing and passionate piece that impacted many.
Adan Davis Zelaya • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:48 am
I really like your article because it speaks on a hole in the school that the field has. I love the way you wrote your article from the way you structured your sentences to the great grammar you used. Your article really inspires me to want to write better in hopes that I can get published here. I can’t wait to read what you write in the future.
Kaia Susman • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:46 am
After hearing you talk to Ms. Regina about this issue I was eager to read your article! I had always wondered why that piece of land had remained vacant and your article brought light and clarity to that exact issue. While a field is not specifically important to me you created a solid foundation and you arguments were spot on. I really enjoyed the array of sources you brought in and I think it was a great idea to get someone out side of the Da Vinci school’s take on the situation. Keeping fighting for change and it will eventually happen!
Chloe Orti • Sep 30, 2021 at 8:44 am
Way to speak up about something we’ve all been wondering about! Your writing was very easy to understand and follow. The soccer field never being built has been a mystery and an annoyance to many of us, and I appreciate you delving deeper and finding more information. I think you did a great job of including quotes and facts. Overall, this was a great first article and I look forward to seeing any future publications from you.
sadie cooper • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:29 pm
I like how you talked about this topic because I have also noticed that they keep talking about completing the field and no progress being made. I found how much money was put into the gym and pool interesting because I was thinking it was on the scale of the thousands not millions. I feel like publishing this article hopefully will let the people in charge of getting the field done aware of how many people would like to see it done and how it has affected the abilities and motivation of the athletes and coaches.
Noah Somilleda • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:26 pm
I really like this article it really speaks about the emptiness and huge hole in DaVinci that his field has left on this campus. I think you did a great job with you’re grammar and sentence sturcuting. I’m looking forward to seeing your future work.
Jocelyn M Guillermo • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:25 pm
Your article is extremely informative and interesting. I did not understand the issue at first until you brought up the timing and the promises that DVC has broken regarding the field and the negative affects that it has on students, Reading this article, gave me a sense of worry with the dangerous implications of the field being incomplete. The interviews that you included supports your claim on the field. The diverse of your interviews really stand out on bringing a professional coach and students. Overall, you wrote a strong article that gave me as a reader, a sense of emotion and you amplified the issue of the field. being incomplete.
Juliana • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:25 pm
I thought this was an interesting article to cover because many students are probably wondering the same thing. It has been four years and there has been no progress with the soccer field. The interviews conducted were very diverse by using the captain of the soccer team, the coaches, and the CEO of Da Vinci. It was also good using different point of views and incorporating the emotions that people flt towards this project that has been promised for years.
Cameron Fisk • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:22 pm
Glad to see someone speaking up about the field not being built. I have also been waiting for the field to be built since my freshmen year. It was hard to come back to school as a senior, with no improvements at all to the field. The landfill filled with dirt has even changed one bit since my first day here at DVC. I hope for the class of 2023 at least to see the field and be able to use it.
Emma Gonzalez • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:15 pm
This article was definitely something that Da Vinci students needed to hear. Since freshman year, I have been hearing about how the soccer field was going to be made but was postponed. Your interviews were spot on and this is one of the most interesting articles I have read on the VP, maybe it’s because I used to play for the soccer team or the fact that I know the people that were interviewed. This publication was straight to the point, I didn’t feel like I was overwhelmed by facts or statistics, but was rather information that was educating me. One piece of constructive criticism would be to have a stronger intro/thesis, specifically where it says, “Unfortunately, each year they have failed.” I feel like this part could be stronger because it could be more exciting, so maybe something like, “The truth is, our school board is not keeping their promise anytime soon, affecting the entire Da Vinci soccer community.” Additionally, your quotes were perfect for this article, I would have liked to see maybe one more athlete from the soccer team that’s a boy to get their perspective instead of Makayla. Overall, this article was like music to my ears because it’s something that kind of has been pushed for all of my high school life. Continue the good work!
Phoenix Fulton • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:09 pm
I think this article was really well told, especially highlighting the fact that Da Vinci has put a lot of energy into other projects since the beginning of the field project. If there was a way to turn this into a student-interactive petition to have the field finished, I think that would’ve been an incredible addition. Of course that would require a lot more time, but articles like these could really envoke change in the way students want.
Bobby Lopez • Sep 29, 2021 at 1:09 pm
I really like your article Gaioi! This is information I’ve been waiting to hear about for years now. I really appreciate the work you’ve done to get us this info!