By Stacy Cruz
Staff Writer
Although both teams wore “Costa” on their jerseys, beach volleyball and ice hockey have only been official Mira Costa sports since the district board meeting on Jan. 22, 2014.
The girls beach volleyball team was certified as an official Costa sport last year. The team was given permission to use the school’s name and logo but was not regulated by the school. The team played together for two years and was called a club team. Costa hockey was classified as a club sport for over 15 years before being certified. These teams are now recognized and regulated by the school as Costa sports.
“I prefer hockey being an official sport at the school,” hockey coach Trevor Oystrick said. “It allows us to better develop a quality hockey program, which allows students to not only play a sport they love, but to earn physical education credit as well.”
The teams now have a booster club, allow only Costa students on their rosters, and require all players to complete an athletic packet containing their medical information. According to beach volleyball coach Eric Fonoimoana, the certification will not change the way the players and coaches interact with each other.
“My coaching doesn’t change either way,” Fonoimoana said. “We are a well-oiled machine, and I expect our Costa girls to dominate for a few more years.”
To become certified, the coaches for volleyball and hockey had to turn in an application and appear before the school board. The application explained all school and district athletic protocols that the team would have to follow. At the board meeting, the coaches of the teams were required to speak about their reasons for wanting the team to be certified.
“I wanted to show the benefits that the team would have on both the school and its students,” Oystrick said. “It also allowed me to express to the district the desire that players had to establish a team.”
Hockey players will now receive grades on their transcripts from the coaches. According to Oystrick, this can be an additional motivating factor for players to try their best in both games and practices.
“Giving players grades will make us much more accountable for our attendance,” junior Ryan Ng said. “Kids won’t be able to just not show up like some have in the past.”
Despite certification, according to Fonoimoana, the girls beach volleyball program was not as affected by the implementation of the booster club because of prior support from MBX, local sponsors like Sketchers, and from team parents.
“We had great support from the community before we were certified,” senior beach volleyball player Keala Rusher said. “This will help us look professional and attract more sponsors.”
The hockey team may have problems fielding both JV and varsity teams in the future, according to Oystrick, beacuse the team is no longer being able to draft players from other schools.
“It is tough playing with only Costa students,” Ng said. “We don’t always have a lot of hockey players at Costa, so fielding a team may become more challenging in the future.”
According to Oystrick, out of all of the benefits that come with becoming a certified high school sport, the most notable is that the sport’s program will now be recognized by Costa.
“It is great that we are now actually representing Costa when we step on the ice,” junior Austin Bowkus said. “Our sport is finally getting the recognition it deserves, and we hope it continues to grow for years to come.”
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