It goes without saying that Oakdale High School is passionate about their sports, at all levels. If you ever attended an OHS sporting event and Pete Simoncini is behind the microphone, you have heard him say “Welcome to Oakdale High School, the pride of the Valley Oak League.” While the sport itself is the main draw, there is also a group of people who volunteer their time behind the scenes that help drive each of the sports programs year round: the Oakdale High School Sports Boosters Club.
Established in the late 1940s, the OHS Sports Boosters Club has helped raise money for every OHS sports program through merchandise sales, fundraisers, running the snack shack during home games and more. The money raised is provided to each of the sports teams throughout the year.
“Coaches come to us year round, even if their sport is not currently in season. They approach us during the meeting and ask us for new equipment, jerseys or basic needs,” said Boosters Club treasurer Lisa McDonald. “The coaches will run it by our Athletic Director Dave Bacigalupi first, and he will send them to our monthly meetings. During the meetings the coaches will pitch their need to us and we take it to a vote. All of the years I have been a member, I don’t think we have ever turned down a request, if we have the funds to meet it.”
Monthly meetings are held the first Monday of every month at Oakdale High School room K1 at 7 p.m. and the meetings are open to the public.
Fall is the busiest time of year for the club, as six different sports account for a total of nine different teams including freshmen, junior varsity and varsity levels.
“Fall can be hectic but we are grateful to be having success. We sell our Fall Sports Program, which Basi Insurance is gracious enough to fund for us. Inside we highlight each fall team in depth with photos, schedules and team rosters,” noted McDonald. “We sell various ads throughout the community. We will have them available for sale at the first home Valley Oak League football game on Friday, Sept. 30.”
Each Fall Sports program is $5. There is still time to get your ad in the program, $50 for business card size ad to $350 full page color ad. For more information contact Vice President Tish Cogburn at (209)596-5761.
Along with the fall program, the Boosters raise money by having a full service snack shack at every Oakdale home football game this season on Thursday and Friday nights. Food includes nachos, drinks, pizza, hot dogs, candy and the famous tri-tip sandwiches.
“We get our meat at SaveMart Supermarkets; they give us a great deal on it. We sell out of the sandwiches every Friday night, so that is our biggest seller by far,” McDonald said of the satisfying food offered this year.
Another fan favorite returning to the snack shack on Friday nights is David Serpa’s Kettle Corn, and new to the snack shack will be fruit cups for those looking for a healthier alternative.
You can also pick up official Mustang gear at any of the home games, for any of the sports this season. Mustangs merchandise is another source that the Booster Club uses for fundraising. Return favorite items include seat cushions, stadium chairs, decals and of course, apparel.
“Our apparel is a top seller. We accommodate youth, women and men of all sizes. Some of the new items include black and red zip up jackets and snapback hats. We try to keep things current and affordable,” McDonald said. “A big thank you to Apparel Graphics for the designs and distribution, as we try to keep things local made.”
The club is always looking for new members and is seeking volunteers to help with the workload, especially for Friday night home football games during the fall.
