PCS does not have as gym. This predicament heavily influences the sports at PCS by limiting practices and games. Our school is geared towards academics which leaves little room for school spirit in regards to sports and other activities. When PCS moved from the Swift Street campus in the fall of 2015, the school lost access to the gym as well. The loss of a well-managed, easily accessible gym has since hindered the value of sports.

The gym was primarily used for basketball and volleyball before it started falling apart due to erosion, mold, and inconsistent upkeep. Due to complaints from the athletes, construction on the old gym began in the early summer of 2018 with the promise of its completion two months before school resumed session in the fall. The construction has been delayed and is still ongoing due to public schools being prioritized by the contractors that oversee the sport programs of the area.

According to our athletic director, Steven Taylor, many schools like Santa Cruz, Soquel, and Harbor High use the same contractor as PCS, but their needs are often favored due to the fact that PCS is a smaller school with less focus on its sports program. This delay in the renovation of the gym has damaged the volleyball teams of PCS, creating a scramble for utilizing other school’s gyms for practices and games.

A lack of reliable practice space hurts the volleyball team’s chances of improving their craft, leading to less effective teams, and ultimately falls into the cycle of the county not favoring worse-performing athletic schools. It’s detrimental to the players to not have a working gym to play or practice in, and leads to many lengthy drives to Monterey, Marina, or Felton for away games.