Village Christian Gym Provides Refuge at Last

Five Alpha League championship banners hang from the ceiling of the new gymnasium at Village Christian High in Sun Valley, one each for track and field, volleyball and cross-country, and two for softball.

And now that construction finally has been completed on the long-awaited gymnasium, boys Coach Tom Watkins is hoping to add a basketball banner or two to the collection.

Before this season, Village Christian played its home games at Montclair Prep in Van Nuys and practiced at Stonehurst in Sun Valley. Finally having a gym is paying off in ways Watkins never imagined.

“Since we moved in here, our field-goal percentage has gone up about 15% from last year,” Watkins said.

Team shooting is up and, officials say, attendance is up, school morale is up, and all because Village Christian finally completed its $1 million multipurpose facility, after more than five years of fund raising, construction and delays.

Now Watkins is hoping the fortunes of the team follow. “I sure hope this helps attract some students,” Watkins said as he watched a recent team shoot-around. “This could really help to get a few more quality players into the program.”

The new facility could attract more than just basketball players. It has seating for 800 in the bleachers, and floor space for several hundred more for stage productions. The school already has produced several musical and dramatic presentations.

The facility has received publicity because of 44 seats installed in the balcony area. Termed luxury boxes by some, the seats were the idea of school plant manager Terry Spahr, who saw an opportunity to generate some extra funding for construction.

“I tried personally to see if there was any unique way to raise money, and this looked like a good idea,” Spahr said. “I figured every rowdy high school student would love the opportunity to sit in the balcony and spit on the opposition.”

The seats are available on a season-ticket basis for $250 per year.