The Santa Teresa High School football team in San Jose is dealing with an unexpected setback before their season has even begun. According to NBC Bay Area, thieves made off with critical sports equipment from the school's storage facilities over the last weekend. The equipment, vital for an array of school activities, including football, band, and cheer, was revealed to have been stolen after the East Side Union High School District noticed damage to storage cabinets.
Details from KRON4 indicate the burglary occurred between the evening of Friday and the morning of Saturday, with the culprits breaking into secured storage containers on the school premises. The stolen items include sporting gear and copper wiring from the field's lighting system and announcement booth. The San Jose Police Department has been brought in to investigate the theft, and the East Side Union High School District has been notified to provide further information.
Despite the crime, there appears to be some silver lining. Repairs on the damaged lighting infrastructure are underway, and the contractors have signaled that the work may be completed sooner than expected. "The community was really worried about not being able to have the lights up and running before the first home game on the 29th," Sergio Diaz-Luna with the school district said, as per NBC Bay Area. "Luckily, some of the estimates that we’re getting from the repair team is that we’ll have the lights up next week."
Moving past the breach, the Santa Teresa Athletic Booster Club is actively seeking donations to replenish the lost equipment and fund the necessary repairs. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to aid the football team, and according to the campaign, any donations will be directed towards necessary gear, including helmets, shoulder pads, and helmet repair kits.
