Shovels not ball bats were the tool of choice Thursday as Santa Fe College held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Hitchcock Family Clubhouse at the college's baseball and softball fields on the Northwest Campus.

Athletes, college staff, members of the District College Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board, members of the community and the Hitchcock Family gathered for the ceremony, donning, appropriately, white ball caps reading 'Hitchcock Family Clubhouse' to recognize the generous benefactors who made the day's event possible.

The 3,612 square-feet Clubhouse will be a significant addition to Santa Fe College's athletics facilities, providing locker rooms onsite for the Men's Baseball and Women's Softball Teams, something previously not available. Athletes would change in their cars and had no place to shelter from storms.

The new facility was made possible by a generous donation from the Hitchcock Family Foundation and represents the start of a long-term reimagining of the ballfields space.

"For years, our students were putting up with less-than," said Dr. Paul Broadie II, SF President. "Not anymore. This is just the first; we will be hearing more about our dream to create an incredible experience for years to come for visitors and fans. Santa Fe College will work with the community to invest in our athletics programs so our students can continue to take home national recognition, all-academic scholars, then go on to excel in D1 schools throughout the nation.

"To the Hitchcock Family, thank you so much."

Discussions about developing the Clubhouse began many years ago until finally coming to fruition early this year.

"This moment reminds me of the movie 'Field of Dreams,'" Caridad "Carrie" Lee, chair of the SF District Board of Trustees, said. "As long as I can remember, Alan (Hitchcock) has been talking about this need for Santa Fe College Athletics." 

Alan Hitchcock, whose family has long connections with the college, relished the moment. Surrounded by family, he talked about his hopes for the facility.

"Johnny Wiggs had taken the SF Baseball team to the World Series, and a group of us said 'Our facilities are kind of behind; if we're going to keep Johnny Wiggs here, we're going to have to do something,'" he said. 

 "Well Johnny left before we got it done, but these student-athletes work really hard and they deserve is a nice facility to shower, get dressed, get cover from a lightning storm."

The moment had impact for the athletics staff and students as well.

"I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of many other people who have gone before me," SF Athletics Director Chanda Stebbins said. 

She referenced the humble beginnings of athletics facilities on the Santa Fe College campus, when former SF Baseball Coach Harry Tholen first built the pitcher's mound in the middle of a cow pasture in 1981, signifying SF's first NJCAA baseball team. 

"In the 45 years since, we've hosted everything from track national championship teams, tennis teams, slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball, as well as the five sports we host right now. We develop people at this institution and in athletics, and we consider ourselves to be transformational. We oftentimes think about championships, and those are won in the flash of an eye, but they are built over time and require many steps, just like this step." 

Stebbins said the new facility will enhance athlete safety and player experience. 

McKenna O'Sullivan, a psychology major and rising sophomore with the SF Softball team, said the new clubhouse will have a tremendous impact on team chemistry and camaraderie, which she believed helped pave the way for their NJCAA World Series bid this May. "This locker room will give us a place to bond and be together before and after practices, and to securely store our uniforms," she said.