East County Times Column Oct. 9, 2008

For the first time in a long time, it seems that there is plenty to do and become involved with around Oakley. That couldn’t be said just a few years ago, when residents young and old were looking to the city to develop afterschool activities and community recreation programs. The community was looking for activities similar to the ones found in Antioch and Brentwood at their community centers. Now that those programs are available, it still seems slow going and some programs have even had to be canceled because of lack of participation.
That’s to be expected though, since the programs are new and people haven’t yet had a chance to get used to them being available. It was the same story in other small cities when their programs first started, so organizers aren’t too worried.
There’s always the possibility that these types of programs aren’t just to the people’s liking. Sometimes people don’t want to participate but just go out and watch. Isn’t that why televised sporting events are so popular? That being the case maybe people are just overlooking what is available to do in Oakley. Something that has been available all along, but maybe just not thought of. For example, how about attending a local sporting event.
Many communities host popular sporting events. Even Oakley’s Freedom High School football games are well attended and not just by the parents of those that are participating in the games. There are people who just enjoy sitting in the stands and watching a good game. It doesn’t matter if they know the players or not. Football fans are just there for the experience of the game and if a team is doing well then all the better.
Apparently, the Freedom Falcons seem to be hitting the mark in that respect this year. With five games under their belts, they have been working themselves into a winning streak. Generally, the games are held Friday evenings. Not all the games are held at home however, so don’t expect to see one every week. Both the junior varsity and varsity teams play on the same nights at the same place. The JV games start at 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for the varsity.
The Freedom Falcons have three more home games between now and November starting Oct. 17 against Antioch’s Deer Valley High School, Oct. 24 against Antioch High School and Nov. 7 against Brentwood’s Heritage High School. Even on the Fridays when they aren’t playing in Oakley, they still will play locally — once in Pittsburg and another time at Liberty High School in Brentwood.
The Freedom Falcons are part of the six teams that make up the Bay Valley Athletic League, which also includes Antioch, Heritage, Liberty, Deer Valley and Pittsburg, so if this is something you get into you won’t have to travel far to attend a game away from home. Tickets are $5 for Freedom students and $8 for the general public.
Even if football isn’t your thing, there are many other sporting events at Freedom including water polo, golf, volleyball and even track and field. Check out the Freedom High School website at ww.libertyuhsd.k12.ca.us/Freedom/athletics/sportshome.html for times and dates of next events.