ESC gives high jumpers place to land Published May 5, 2015 By Rebecca Amber Staff writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Desert High School track team will finally have a safe place for its high jumpers to land, thanks to the Edwards Enlisted Spouses Club. ESC treasurer, Andrea Guest, and advisor Leslie Smith, presented the track team with $1,000 to purchase safety equipment. Shona Wood, DHS head track coach, says the money will be used to purchase a new high jump pit. The team has been "in desperate need" of a new pit for nearly five years now. The current one, originally several feet thick, is now sinking into the ground. According to the coach, the track program benefits over a seventh of the school's population and shares their equipment with the Edwards Youth Track Club as well. Someday Wood hopes the team will be able to find a sponsor to donate an all-weather track, which can cost between $100,000 to $250,000 with installation. "We have a track, but it is dirt and very hard," said Wood. "It's almost like cement with dirt sprinkled on top of it and it's caused a lot of shin splints." In the meantime, the Rosburg Fitness Center allows the team to practice on their rubberized track when it does not conflict with military physical training times. "Sports as a whole, keeps kids out of trouble and it's also an incentive to keep their grades up," said Wood. "We're trying to teach them life skills too." The ESC raises money for donations like this one through bake sales, the annual Mistletoe Bazaar, the Quarter Auction and the Created Treasures gift store. The club uses the money to offer annual scholarships to college-bound students and to aid enlisted members going through hardships. To learn more about the Enlisted Spouses Club email them at edwardsesc@yahoo.com. For more information on ways to support the Desert High track team, email shona_wood@hotmail.com.