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As the school year winds down, Van Horn activities director John Ihm continues to realize the impact the Independence School District has made on the Eastern Jackson County high school.
“This past year, we hosted a football game on site at the high school,” Ihm said with a touch of pride in his voice. “We’ve had boys and girls soccer games at home, and we hosted the Independence City Championship in track and field.”
That was quite an accomplishment for a high school that could barely field a track and field team before it became part of the Independence School District.
Van Horn now boasts a state-of-the-art sports complex that serves the football and soccer teams along with the track and field squads.
“We even have our baseball team out there practicing when it’s too wet to get out on the baseball field,” Ihm said. “And you can drive past the high school at night and see youngsters from the community playing soccer and see folks walking on the track. It has really become an important part of our community.”
Hosting the Independence City Championship is a major coup for the Falcons, and Ihm and his staff pulled it off without a hitch.
“It was a great meet, and John Ihm and everyone at Van Horn should be proud of the way it was conducted,” said Fort Osage girls coach J.D. Snead, whose Indians won their fifth consecutive city championship crown.
“I was so impressed with the facility and with John Ihm. You could never tell it was the first time they had hosted such a big meet. We’ve heard a lot of good things about what has been going on at Van Horn, and we got to experience it at that meet.”
Looking back at the meet, Ihm takes a deep breath and simply says, “It’s a big load off our minds getting that meet completed. It’s a credit to Danny Marshall, our track and field coach, his staff, the staff at the high school and some wonderful volunteers.
“When we were asked to host the event, we said, ‘Absolutely.’ Then, you start to think that maybe you should have hosted a smaller meet. I’ll admit there were a few glitches, but I don’t think anyone really noticed.”
One problem was parking because the shot and discus areas took up much of the prime parking area south of the complex.
As the school year winds down, Van Horn activities director John Ihm continues to realize the impact the Independence School District has made on the Eastern Jackson County high school.
“This past year, we hosted a football game on site at the high school,” Ihm said with a touch of pride in his voice. “We’ve had boys and girls soccer games at home, and we hosted the Independence City Championship in track and field.”
That was quite an accomplishment for a high school that could barely field a track and field team before it became part of the Independence School District.
Van Horn now boasts a state-of-the-art sports complex that serves the football and soccer teams along with the track and field squads.
“We even have our baseball team out there practicing when it’s too wet to get out on the baseball field,” Ihm said. “And you can drive past the high school at night and see youngsters from the community playing soccer and see folks walking on the track. It has really become an important part of our community.”
Hosting the Independence City Championship is a major coup for the Falcons, and Ihm and his staff pulled it off without a hitch.
“It was a great meet, and John Ihm and everyone at Van Horn should be proud of the way it was conducted,” said Fort Osage girls coach J.D. Snead, whose Indians won their fifth consecutive city championship crown.
“I was so impressed with the facility and with John Ihm. You could never tell it was the first time they had hosted such a big meet. We’ve heard a lot of good things about what has been going on at Van Horn, and we got to experience it at that meet.”
Looking back at the meet, Ihm takes a deep breath and simply says, “It’s a big load off our minds getting that meet completed. It’s a credit to Danny Marshall, our track and field coach, his staff, the staff at the high school and some wonderful volunteers.
“When we were asked to host the event, we said, ‘Absolutely.’ Then, you start to think that maybe you should have hosted a smaller meet. I’ll admit there were a few glitches, but I don’t think anyone really noticed.”
One problem was parking because the shot and discus areas took up much of the prime parking area south of the complex.
“But we found enough space for everyone,” Ihm said, “and we’re talking with some of the area churches to see if we might use their parking lots for some of the bigger events next year, like our homecoming football game.”
While Ihm takes a great deal of pride in the success of the city championship event, he can’t rest on his laurels.
“We’re also hosting district soccer and conference baseball,” he said chuckling. “One down, three to go. And we’re excited about soccer and baseball. Of course, soccer will be here at the high school, and it’s looking like Roper Field will be ready for baseball.
“There was some storm damage to the field, but the field is in excellent shape, and we’re going to bring in temporary bleachers until we get the permanent bleachers.
“There has been a lot of good things taking place at this high school the past two years, and in our third year, there have been even more exciting events happening. Hosting the Independence City Championship and getting ready to host district soccer and conference baseball is just amazing when you think about it.
“Three years ago, when the school opened, these are the things we talked about and dreamed about – and now they’re becoming a reality.”
