Recreation Commission forwards Moraga Canyon recommendations
The Piedmont Recreation Commission forwarded its input on the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan at the Commission’s June 18 meeting.
Also at the meeting, a group of Piedmont High School beach volleyball players spoke out asking the Commission to consider space for a facility to host matches and practices in Piedmont. The team just completed its third season and has no practice facility in town, with commutes of 40 minutes each way to a facility in the town of Moraga.
The Moraga Canyon Specific Plan involves a potential development on the north part of town around Coaches Field. Housing could be build but the plans also include improvements to Coaches Field, including expanding it to the size needed to host Under-14 year old soccer, including spectator stands, bathrooms and the like. The current is grass and hosts multiple sports including soccer, baseball and softball. The new field would potentially have artificial turf with overlays for baseball and soccer. It could also host lacrosse and other sports.
The Commission voted 5-0 to send a recommendation back to the City Council for the improvements, which did not include a beach volleyball facility.
Daisy Tran, who will be a junior in the fall, was one of the players who spoke at the meeting.
“I believe that having our own courts locally would create a stable foundation for further team improvement,” Tran said. “Local courts would open many opportunities for people of all ages to build community through playing beach volleyball.”
Coach Justin Hoover said he had 72 players express interest in trying out for the team this past Spring, but only eight were able to play. He attributed that dropoff to not having a facility in Piedmont. Rising sophomore Allyson Huynh said, “I was one of those 72 girls who had signed up to play beach volleyball. However because my parents were unable to contribute to the carpool, I was unable to play.”
Although the players were speaking to the agenda item on the Moraga Caynon Specific Plan, the site is unlikely to be open to a beach volleyball facility. Plans have been drawn up on the idea of improving the site for its current usage. Further, it’s unknown where exactly the housing would be built – there are no proposed projects yet. In theory, someone could eventually propose a court on the city-owned property. But it seems unlikely at this point in the process, which began in 2023.
“It was not a recreation facility that was identified by the city council when they approved the recreation facility as part of the plan,” Piedmont Director of Planning & building Kevin Jackson explained.
Hoover said his team’s appearance was mainly to raise awareness of the problem.
“I did not go in thinking we’re going to get a volleyball court,” he said. “I did go in trying to make sure they know we’re here.”
-
The Piedmont beach volleyball team: (L-R) Mia Bechtel, Daisy Tran, Izara Dando, Lucia Dorsey, Sofia Meyer, Olivia Stevens and coach Justin Hoover.
The players all talked about the rising popularity of the sport – both indoor and beach volleyball have seen massive increases in participation in recent years. They also all spoke of the commute time denying kids the opportunity to play.
“It would be such a shame to see all the love for the sport go to waste since we didn’t have a stable facility,” said Fiona Olsen, a rising junior.
