THE NEW 130 YARD FOODBALL FIELD IN FIELDHOUSE. PHOTO BY CHELSEA BANKS.

By Chisom Ukoha
Staff writer
@uchisom3

A half a year later and the new Coppell High School fieldhouse is finally in use, and the Cowboys football team is taking advantage of the new facility.

“The indoor fieldhouse is going to be great. Obviously, you have a big nice air dome that is free from the elements, and protects are kids from the elements,” Coppell ISD Athletics Director Joe McBride said. “A lot [of weather] rolls through in the the afternoon, sometimes throughout the year. So being able to create a space that gives you the ability to still get ready for games and prepare out of the elements, is a huge advantage because other schools don’t have it.”

The new fieldhouse is expected to greatly improve productivity, not only for the football but for all sports. McBride thinks that it will also help improve organization and give extra room so that one place won’t be crowded, hopefully giving Coppell an advantage over other programs.

“When you’re preparing like you always do, even when there’s bad elements, your competition isn’t,” McBride said. “They are having to scramble around and try to find a gym, that’s undersized, or they are using a room, that is way undersized. So it’s a huge advantage for all our programs to be able to prepare when the weather isn’t conducive to practice.”

Not only does McBride feel this way, but so do players.

“The new fieldhouse is pretty sweet. We have practiced in it a couple times and it is really like a college facility,” freshman cornerback T.J. McDaniel said. “It is really nice to practice there on a hot day since there is air conditioning, or even on a rainy day. It is really helpful.”