Northern polishes its trophy gym

Port Huron Northern's gymnasium is continuing its transformation with the installation of new basketball systems this week.

The gym floor, which had been first installed in 1965, was replaced in August after more than a year of fundraising. More than $140,000 was raised from corporate sponsors and individual donors.

"You can tell the difference when you walk on it, especially if you knew what it was like last year," said Jason Kasparian, Northern's athletic director. "I compare it like concrete to cushion top."

Kasparian said that after the new gym floor was finished, a parent approached him about a month ago to ask what they could now do about the basketball nets.

The way the systems were set up interfered with both basketball and volleyball games, Kasparian said. Sometimes basketballs would hit wires which would cause the balls to go dead. Raising the backboards didn't leave enough room for volleyball games.

After the parent offered to work on fundraising, Kasparian looked up the costs of replacing the aging basketball systems, which include backboards, rims, supports and motorized lifts. Everything was original to the building with the exception of the backboards, which were redone in the 1990s.

Within a couple weeks, Kasparian said a parent group raised $7,000 for the upgrades. Northern's student council pitched in $3,000 and the district's facilities department contributed $1,895. The total cost of replacement is $11,895.

The current backboard will be removed Wednesday and the new installation will be completed this weekend — just in time for basketball season.

"It’s nice to have a system in place this fully aligned (and) ready to go at the beginning of the season," Kasparian said. "It’s better to have it at the beginning."

The installation of the new systems primarily affects the main courts.

Jenna Koppinger, a senior and president of Northern's student council, said the organization was happy to contribute because they always look to do things that help the whole student body. The money was primarily raised through homecoming and snowcoming dances.

"We really wanted to pick a fundraiser going on within our school that would help everyone," Koppinger said.

Koppinger, who is also a member of the varsity girls' basketball team, said the installation of the gym floor has been beneficial. As someone who had played on the old gym floor for the past three years, she feels the positive effect of the new padded floor in her knees.

With the installation of the new basketball systems, she feels pride.

"It's nice to have a new place to play," Koppinger said. "It's almost like a trophy to show off."

From backing the replacement of the new gym floor to the new basketball systems, Kasparian said the community support has been overwhelming.

"It's amazing how much people are willing to give back to their community and give back to the school," Kasparian said. "The things we have done here at Northern is really a point of pride — our gym is a point of pride."

Contact Anya Rath at (810) 989-6276 or arath@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @anya_rath.