Smoothly running and organizing all of the AHS athletic spaces is complex and extremely difficult.

As an Aspen community member, learning about the different amenities can be informative and valuable. Throughout the fall and spring, various athletic teams at Aspen High School utilize our school facilities, such as the stadium and weightroom, but they first need to work through the booking process.

John Castrese, Aspen High School’s athletic director, works tirelessly in order to fit every sport into a practice plan. He has to consider which team needs what space and what times would work best for them.

“I try to look at a rotation and make it equitable and accessible for all teams,” Castrese signed, “It’s like playing chess trying to calculate these schedules.”

Aspen High School is a 3A public school in a rural town, and there is limited space and time for teams to practice. Coaches have to balance their schedules with other coaches looking for the same time and space as them. The ASD turf has enough room for one big team to practice simultaneously. Oren Schragger, head coach of the AHS boy’s soccer team, struggles with sharing the field with the football team.

“We would have a two-hour practice every single day if we had the time and space for it,” Schragger said. “Every time the football team isn’t on the field, we’ll jump at the chance to go use it.”

Behind the scenes of the sports world at Aspen High School is much more complicated than some might think. Even as a coach, it’s easy to overlook Castrese’s thought process when creating a schedule. Gioia Bartalo, has been the head coach of Aspen High School’s Spirit and Dance Team since 2019. She acknowledges the difficulty of organizing and recognizes that as a coach, being mindful of everyone else is imperative. She thinks that as a team of coaches at the school, sharing spaces has gone fairly well so far.

“Everybody is able to work together in these situations,” Bartalo said.