Sunnyside High School's tradition-rich athletics program won its 13th consecutive state wrestling title in February and has ranked in the top two in Arizona wrestling for 31 straight years. Sunnyside has found a way to use athletics to promote academic and personal success with students despite rising expenses and fees.
"This is an institution for academics," said Richard Sanchez, Sunnyside athletic director and assistant principal. "Our athletics give our kids a sense of pride and ownership of their teams, but our job as educators is to put our kids in the best position to be successful."
However, funding 13 boys and girls sports and more than 20 extracurricular school-sponsored clubs and activities is no easy task.
At the beginning of each school year, Sunnyside Unified School District allots each school an equal amount of money for extracurricular activities, including sports. The principal of each school then divvies up the funds.
The allotted funds are not always enough to support student athletics, Sanchez said.
At Sunnyside, students pay a $25 fee per sport, which is capped at $50 per student regardless of how many sports they play. The fees go toward equipment, travel, staff and officials. However, the actual costs can be hundreds more than the student fees collected.
From August to December 2009, the cost of paying officials and referees was close to $11,000 at Sunnyside, Sanchez said. For football alone, required equipment such as helmets and shoulder pads cost more than $200 per player.
"You can't cut corners with that stuff because it is a safety issue," Sanchez said. "It's not a wish list, but what's needed to participate."
Sunnyside does not make money from athletic competition aside from football ticket and concession sales.
The lack of additional funds leaves Sanchez and his coaches in a difficult position.
Sanchez said one football trip to San Diego, Calif., cost $16,000.
"That meant that we weren't able to give our athletes as much gear and equipment as they had gotten in years past," he said.
Heavy fundraising is needed to make up for the gap between money budgeted and the money needed for all athletic programs.
Students are mainly responsible for fundraising. They hold bake sales and car washes to raise money. Concession sales have also helped.
Though the community has consistently supported the school, no contribution has been as large as the Sunnyside Foundation's Blue Devils Football Golf Tournament, an annual community event that Sanchez started.
Two years ago, retired police sergeant Gene Gonzales and his brother, Rick Gonzales, volunteered to handle the cost and organization to help Sanchez.
"Both of us being alum of the high school and knowing how much Richard (Sanchez) does for the program really made it something that we wanted to help out with as much as we could," Gene Gonzales said.
The golf tournament, held at Starr Pass this August for the seventh consecutive year, is a non-profit fundraiser held specifically for the football program.
Each player pays $150 for a round of golf, food and a gift. But local corporate sponsors offer the biggest contribution. After expenses, the tournament brings in as much as $20,000.
"Our goal is to help give the students everything they need in order to be successful and be able to compete with other schools in the state," Sanchez said.
Throughout his efforts to keep the athletic department afloat, Sanchez has not lost sight of the importance of students being successful in the classroom.
He is responsible for creating the Academic Compliance Office at Sunnyside, which requires students to maintain a certain grade point average in order to participate in athletics.
"We really do everything we can to make sure our students are not only able to succeed in athletics but also become exceptional students and people who can go on to get a college degree after graduating," Sanchez said.
Sunnyside has a 75.4 percent graduation rate as of 2008, according to SUSD's official statistics, and higher than the district's 69.3 percent average.
Sanchez said he knows the success of the athletics program directly impacts the students on a higher level, making it a critical component of the students' success.
"It's about becoming an exceptional person here and going on to be successful. We just have to give the kids the right opportunity, and in this case it's athletics that allows us to do that."
