THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Giving a Real feel to the 3As

Once Todd Gilkey returned to St. Maries High in 2015 as the school’s athletic director, he got put to work in more than a few different ways.

It’s understandable, with Gilkey’s time on the board of control of the Idaho High School Activities Association, he knew how to get things done when it came to state tournaments.

AS THE state 3A soccer tournaments wrap up today at The Fields at Real Life in Post Falls, the process of getting the games at the facility began more than three years ago with a simple conversation at an AD meeting.

“When I started going to AD meetings for scheduling soccer, they asked me how we could get the 3A tournament up here, since it had never been here before,” Gilkey said. “I told them we needed a facility and some other things.”

Last fall, the wheels turned in motion.

“It’s our second year getting to rent this field,” said Coeur d’Alene Charter Athletic Director Aaron Lippy. “At Charter, we’ve got to rent our facilities and Tood said this was a really nice facility. We’ve got inside rooms, concessions and restrooms (at the nearby The Courts at Real Life) so he thought, ‘why not try to get the state tournament up here.’ We talked to Real Life employees and they said they’d do whatever we needed. And they’ve been awesome. We brought a few things, but everything else, they’ve had here, and let us use it. And it’s been excellent.”

And IHSAA Assistant Director Julie Hammons, who serves as the state’s soccer director, agrees.

“There’s a turf/grass conundrum when it comes to soccer teams in Idaho,” Hammons said. “Really, if you’re looking at fall in Idaho, no matter where you’re at, you don’t always have the luxury of beautiful grass like we have at Post Falls. It could get pretty ruddy if we have a wet fall. So anytime we can get a turf field that’s fenced and has lights, we’re all over it. We’re always looking for great venues and know the 3A schools are really excited to be on it.”

And Hammons has been impressed with the staff and setting at Real Life as well.

“It’s amazing,” Hammons said. “The people there are willing to do whatever it takes to make it a great experience for the kids. And those are the kind of people we want to work with. They’ve worked hard to get it ready for our tournament. Concessions and restrooms at the facility are sometimes something our soccer kids don’t get. We’re so excited to have them.”

Gilkey added that the spectators and coaches have also enjoyed the setting.

“Everyone has been very complimentary of the staff at Real Life,” Gilkey said. “In any other year, the other side of the field (where spectators are allowed), would be filled with people up and down both sidelines. With the COVID things going on, we’ve had to stagger start times. But when this comes back, I think once those teams that traveled tell other coaches how nice the facility is, they’ll want to come here too.”

FOR LIPPY, who has been the athletic director for four years at Charter, it has worked out really well with both the boys and girls programs advancing to the semifinals on Friday, with trophy games — either for first or third — later today.

“For our teams, it was really interesting,” Lippy said. “In the four years I’ve been here, usually we travel on Wednesday’s and the team is always together. We had a team dinner in our gym on Wednesday, and instead of being together, they all went home. There was a huge buzz with the kids at the school. We sent out a ticket link to the parents, and our students were excited about getting to come out and watch. I know we’ll have a bigger crowd than normal just from hearing from them.”

State will be in the north again in 2022 when the 4A teams play, with those matches scheduled — at least for now — at either Coeur d’Alene, Lake City or Post Falls high. In 2024, the 5A tournaments are suggested to be at The Fields.

“I know Craig (Christensen, the athletic director at Post Falls High) is excited about those fields,” Hammons said. “I’m sure we’d find a way to get them into a rotation with the other locations around the state.”

After snow blanketed the area on Friday afternoon, the 5A packed up and went home. The 3A's on the other hand ...

“We’ve got a guy that’s on call to clear the fields and is ready to go,” Gilkey said. “Since we’ll be down to one field (for championship games this afternoon), we could move some things around if need be.”

It truly seems like organizers really thought of everything to make this inaugural tournament quite the success in Post Falls.

Now, about that weather?

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.