Batavia Blue Devil Hall of Fame Coach John Kreydt was surprised at his door on Saturday afternoon by members of the Batavia City School District Foundation, who arrived at his side door with a piece of Woodward field for him to plant in his backyard.
Robert Thurston/class of 1985, Blue Devils Hall of Fame member and former player under Kreydt, Rocco Della Penna/class of 1988 and former player under Kreydt along with Advancement Coordinator Julia Rogers, class of 1988, delivered the piece of historical turf as a surprise.
Coach Kreydt says he has a lot of fond memories and had quite a few championships in his 25 years as the Blue Devil’s football coach.(1970-1995)
“We were always competitive and we never had a losing season,” says Coach Kreydt.
“To me it is significant that a lot of kids dedicated themselves to work to win.”
Coach Kreydt says the 1991 team won a State Championship and there were a few others.
“I don’t know, as I get older there are about 30 of them.”
The slice of history will be planted in Coach Kreydt’s backyard.
Thurston says he will always remember his early morning ritual before each home game.
“I would go down to the field like at 1:00 a.m., just to sit on the field and think about the game and that’s how I prepared for the game,” says Thurston.
Thurston says he doesn’t like to see the field change, he wishes it would stay the same.
He says the locker room still smells the same from his playing days.
The field and stadium will undergo construction and be upgraded for the 2019-20 school year as part of the 2020 Vision Capital Improvement Project
{Submitted photo}
The foundation invited the community to come out to Van Detta Stadium at Woodward Field on Saturday afternoon and own a piece of the historic ground that has been part of so many memories over the years. The stadium and track will close up today, October 14, 2018 to begin construction.
The BCSD Foundation received over $250 in donations from Saturday’s event.