A quarterback leading a late-game offensive drive might keep a close eye on the scoreboard, his primary concern being the time on the game clock expiring before his squad can score.
That the game clock might vanish altogether probably wouldn’t cross his mind.
For the North Beach Hyaks football program, that wasn’t always a guarantee. During a game last fall, the scoreboard sputtered and lost connection, forcing time to be kept on the field and in the stands, out of sight of the players. Head Coach Todd Gladsjo used the instance as a teaching moment about facing unexpected adversity.
“You would think that you’re always going to look at the scoreboard, you’re always going to know what time it is,” Gladsjo said.
This year, they will. Earlier this month, the North Beach football field received a brand new, $24,000 LED scoreboard from the North Beach Booster Club, courtesy of donations from the Seabrook Community Foundation, Five Star Dealerships and Buck Electric.
The new scoreboard has been a long time coming, Gladsjo said, who is entering his third year as head coach of the program. Discussions surrounding a new board have swirled since he joined the coaching staff five years ago.
“The fact that it’s actually come to fruition and we get to see that is just wonderful for our program and for the people of North Beach,” Gladsjo said, adding, “It looks phenomenal.”
The old scoreboard had faded paint and rusted metal, and the lights were sometimes barely visible from the field during a typical thick fall fog.
“Our first game, half the numbers didn’t even work. You didn’t know if it was a three or an eight,” said Frank Elduen, president of the North Beach Booster Club and, as of this year, an assistant coach of the football team. “It was a never-ending battle to keep that thing functioning.”
Elduen said the new board, which was installed by Coastline Sign, should “hold up better out here in the environment, which is pretty darn caustic.”
The football team starts summer practice June 5 in preparation for next fall’s season. The players are “incredibly enthusiastic about it. It gets them pumped, and it’s just a sense of pride, pride for their school and their community,” Gladsjo said.
