Parker Dunn is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Horizon Honors High School for AZPreps365.com

The Horizon Honors baseball team is shifting gears from turning tires to running bases. And this time around, the Eagles are finally reaching home plate in the form of a baseball field that they can call their own. The new addition of a baseball and softball field, along with a gym and workout facility, has revolutionized Horizon Honors athletics by giving the sports teams a whole new identity.

“They love the new field, they now feel like they have a true home field advantage because this field is now theirs,” said athletic director Nate Agostini.

After constantly traveling from campus to a variety of fields throughout Phoenix and the Ahwatukee area for soccer, baseball and softball, the school finally decided that it needed to change things up. The addition of the new sports facilities, which are up and running, alleviates the inconvenience of the back and forth traveling.

Agostini mentioned how significant this transition is since it means Horizon Honors will no longer lose practice time due to travel and the school does not have to compete with other teams for field times.

The fundraising to make such a large project like this possible did not happen overnight though. The idea was introduced about three years ago and from that day forward Betsy Fera, the school’s executive director, worked rigorously to organize the project.

Although she helped lead the project in the right direction, she did not accomplish it all on her own. There was a wide array of support from start to finish from the parents of the students at Horizon Honors.

“(There was) lots of careful planning,” Agostini said. “We were fortunate enough to have had tremendous technical support from some of our parents who have experience with these types of projects.”

This project encountered many challenges along the way but Agostini said it was well worth it considering how much money it is going to save Horizon Honors in the long run. Not only does it eliminate the cost of everyday transportation, but it also allows revenue to be generated with legitimate home games being played on campus.

“The school saves money by not having to rent baseball fields and pay for transporting our students to those off campus facilities,” Agostini said. “By having a baseball field on our campus, we are able to generate revenue through rentals to outside groups (and can) generate revenue by hosting leagues and tournaments.”

The students on campus are thrilled to have these new facilities which they will now have the luxury to use going forward. They quickly expressed their satisfaction with the new upgrades on campus as soon as it arrived since they have a field that they can claim as theirs for the first time.

“They love the new field. They now feel like they have a true home field advantage because this field is now theirs,” Agostini said.

It is more than fitting that the students themselves benefit from this change as they were the ones who endured the nonstop travel from site to site every single day. The students’ willingness to deal with the circumstances placed in front of them made them all so deserving of the new facilities that they have been given.

“They have great attitudes about it and understand that having to travel to the facilities is what we needed to do to have those athletic programs,” Agostini said, referring to how the students remained unbothered by constant transportation that became a routine for them in the past.

The athletes were not the only members of the school and community who were pleased by this needed change of course. From coaches, to parents and all the way to other faculty members, the new fields and gyms are going to provide a whole lot of good to the school.

"I believe the facility upgrades are vital to retaining student-athletes and help us remain competitive,” said Melissa Hartley, the school’s communications and marketing director.

With the upgrades ready to go for the upcoming season, students will be able show their school pride and play in front of their friends and family this time on “their” field.

“It is important that all our community members have pride in their school and their campus," Hartley said.