Pali High baseball team still looking for a home

Weeks after the Palisades Fire, Mike Voelkel was finally allowed onto the Palisades Charter High School baseball field that was somehow spared by a blaze that had torn across 23,000 acres and 37 square miles, burning down more than 6,800 structures, including much of the neighborhood around the school.

A diamond amongst the rubble of the worst fire in Los Angeles history, a diamond in the rough, but a diamond nonetheless.

“The grass was so tall I certainly had to actually stare out on the field to find the mound,” Voelkel, the Pali High head baseball coach for the past 18 years, said laughing. “The grass was, I don’t know, foot-plus high and, yeah, it was green. It hadn’t got water for a while, so it wasn’t as green as when we normally do our our TLC, but it was, it was green, and there was grass growing everywhere, even in the couple of dead spots that we had.”

The snack shack was still standing, as were Voelkel’s office and the dugouts, players’ equipment still where they had left it on the afternoon of January 6, the day before the Palisades Fire.

“So this is a baseball coach’s mind,” Voelkel continued, recalling his thought process as he walked around a field he had practically built from scratch nearly 20 years earlier. “I was thinking what I could do to fix it, to get it ready for a game, and so that was, honestly, what was going through my mind.”

LAUSD and Pali High officials, however, had other ideas.

How’s the song go? They paved paradise, put up a …

In April, not long after Voelkel’s visit, bulldozers dug up the field, which was then paved over to accommodate 21 bungalow-style portable temporary classrooms and two portables for school administration. The bungalows are replacing the 21 permanent and temporary classrooms that were destroyed in the Palisades Fire.

“Came in, they removed, they knocked down every single fence, all the dugouts, the coach’s office, the snack shop,” said Peter Branch, a Pali High alum and baseball parent. “Couldn’t they have left some structure still standing and worked around that. Did they really need every inch of it? And then they came in and bulldozed our field.”

Pali High parents and players said Los Angeles Unified School District and Palisades Charter High School officials decided to tear down and then pave over the field with little or no input from the community, a move that has left the team without a home field and the future of the program in question.

“I felt like they didn’t even try to make it work anywhere else,” said Branch, whose family lost their home in the fire. “So taking away a field like that, and it’s just kind of breaking a lot of hearts, but everybody’s already damaged so much, going through what they’re going through, losing their houses. This is kind of like, well, we can handle that. That’s out of our hands.”

Pali parents and players said they are not only angered by the decision to raze the baseball field but frustrated by the LAUSD and school administration’s failure to secure a permanent home for the Pali High program.

“I did have trouble accepting that they were going to destroy our field,” said Jill O’Brien, the mother of a Pali High player, “and I think that the least that they can do is to ensure that we have another space. That we have another space near the school where these boys can call their own.”

The Dolphins played “home games” on 15 different fields this past season.

During an April 9 webinar where parents were first told of the plan to pave over the school’s baseball field, officials assured the families that both the LAUSD and the Pali High administration were “committed to ensuring the future of baseball at PCHS,” and would “move quickly” to find an alternative home for the team.

Three months later the families are still waiting.

LAUSD officials said they have plans to build a new baseball facility on the school’s campus as part of a $725 million rebuilding project for Pali High, Palisades Charter Elementary and Marquez Charter Elementary schools.

The baseball field’s projected completion date?

2029.

“This is not a priority for them,” O’Brien said. “We want it to be a priority.”

“You know how LAUSD is always talking about ‘no kid left behind?’” Branch said. “Well, you left a whole team behind.”

The Southern California News Group reached out to Pali High executive director and principal Pamela Magee and LAUSD and for comment for this article and provided Magee nd the school district with a series of questions, including who made the decision to pave over the Pali High baseball facility? When was the decision made? What was the process? Why was the baseball facility chosen to hold the portable classrooms? Were parents contacted and given an opportunity for input before the decision was made? Where is the search for a facility for the team to play at?Magee did not respond.

Parents said Magee also has not responded to repeated requests to discuss the field decision.

An LAUSD spokesperson did not address the questions but instead issued a statement.

“Los Angeles Unified is working closely with the Executive Director/Principal at Palisades Charter High School on every decision regarding rebuilding, including the athletic facilities,” the statement said.

“There were 21 classrooms destroyed in the fire that were housed in both permanent and portable buildings. Temporary portable classrooms have been placed on the baseball field and will be utilized until permanent structures are erected – which is expected to be complete in Q4-2028. At that time the portable classrooms on the baseball field will be removed and the baseball field will be reconstructed, which is anticipated to be completed in 2029.”

Voelkel, in a recent telephone interview, was asked if he could sustain the program if the team didn’t have a permanent home when school opens in the fall.

“It’s going to be very, very challenging,” he admitted. “You know we don’t recruit. We’re kind of old school where whoever is enrolled in Pali has the opportunity to try out for the baseball team. And so I imagine that the numbers of the enrollment for freshmen is probably going to drop. And I imagine that some of our kids are under the circumstances and the more and more information that comes out are probably going to transfer. I’ve already filled out a couple of recommendations for some of my kids to other schools. And so, I mean, that’s nobody’s fault, you know, just what it is. And families are going to do what’s best for their sons, and I completely understand, endorse it. I will help in any way I can.

“I think that gut-wrenching part is actually twofold. One is, you know, spending 18 years to build it. I don’t have the energy to do that again, because it was a lot of work. And, you know, it took a lot of time in that regard. The other thing is to be able to run the complex program that we had in place. There’s no way we can even come close to that. And the other part, from, from my personal perspective, is the gut-wrenching part, because you know, you have to take away things and water down things, and I think that’s what allowed us to actually develop and improve and we had some pretty good success in that department.”

Pali High recently reached the CIF Los Angeles Section Division quarterfinals despite playing away from home the entire season. The Dolphins won a record 72 consecutive league games between 2017 and 2024 and have won 11 Western League titles in Voelkel’s 18 seasons at the school.

But the program’s crown jewel was its diamond, the House that Coach Mike Built.

Voelkel always seemed to be there.

It didn’t matter if you were walking your dog past Palisades Charter High School just past dawn or rushing home for dinner in the day’s twilight, for parts of three decades there was one thing you could count on: that Voelkel would be at the school with a rake or a shovel or on lawn mower, lugging some of the 250 bags of clay it took to build the mound, polishing the baseball diamond he had basically built from scratch.

“Every weekday morning I would come down Sunset around the baseball field at 6:50 in the morning and Coach Mike would be out there,” Branch said. “At night, Coach would still be out there at 6 doing whatever he needed to do, some additional watering, some additional maintenance.”

Voelkel was so dedicated to building the field that for a time he and his wife Norma moved into a place two blocks from the field.

“And then once we got a place, I was down there all the time. One of the memories was my wife standing there with the ‘I’m gonna kill you’ look on her face, because I hadn’t been home in a while,” Voelkel said, laughing. “And so I knew it was time to start putting my tools away, and then Mama was happy.

“We had built that field from the very beginning,” continued Voelkel, who came to Pali High in 2008. “And it wasn’t in the best of shape at the time, so we had started on the outfield, put in a fence, permanent fence, put in a warning track, and just started working our way back towards home plate. And just kept adding things here and there. We would have our fundraisers. I would raised money and just kind of build it up until we had enough money to pay for the next project. And then once that was completed, then we moved on to the next one. And just kind of did that year after year.”

Parents estimate that Voelkel raised more than $3 million to support his projects.

And then on January 7, he watched along with much of the nation as the field of his dreams was seemingly swept up in the Palisades Fire.

“I was at home and I saw the broadcast and the site, or the place that (news crews) were actually shooting it from was right there in right field on Sunset,” Voelkel said. “And so the fence that surrounds the school is approximately 10 feet high, and the flames are about 20 feet higher than that. And the commentators were saying that the school and the field and everything had been destroyed.”

A few miles away, O’Brien watched with her son Jack, a pitcher and outfielder for Pali High.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how devastating that was, and it was scary, as you saw the fire approaching, but then the visuals of the field being enveloped in flames, I can, I mean, I can start to cry right now,” she said. “It was just awful.”

And then the next day Voelkel began hearing that the field had actually survived the fire, the only damage a couple of small spots of burnt grass.

“We had some kids that go on their bikes and scooters and they actually went down to the field and took pictures,” Voelkel said. “And the field actually was still in good shape. The way our field sits, it kind of sits in a little bit of a bowl. And so we have a, I don’t know, 50, 70, foot high embankment there where we had shrubbery and trees and all that stuff. And the fire, for some reason, just stayed on that. It was almost like a road for it, and it just stayed on that. And kind of burned around it. And there were a few bungalows that from embers, that caught fire, but that’s like kindling. And then there was one major building that got destroyed. We lost a storage shed that had our four-wheeler and our lawn mowers, edgers, all of our field equipment and all that stuff. And then we lost a storage shed that took care of our mound clay, and all that stuff.”

But the field, the dugouts, the batting cages were intact.

O’Brien recalled the relief and joy her son and his teammates felt.

“The boys were ready the next day,” O’Brien said. “They wanted to put on their bootstraps and go and clean the field and help. They thought that they could go back and help clean it up and it would be okay.”

The players’ willingness to go to work is a reflection of the lessons Voelkel taught on the field that went beyond the fundamentals of the game.

In the wake of the Palisades Fire, Voelkel told the team that they and their field could be a rallying point for a devastated community. More than a third of the team —15 out of 42 players — were displaced by the blaze.

Instead, families were told of the decision to tear down and pave over the baseball field in a March 10 webinar led by Magee in which she and LAUSD officials did not take questions or discuss alternative measures, according to parents who took part in the webinar.

“The decisions were made very quickly without consideration or input from any of the surrounding people or the people that matter that also use the field like AYSO and travel baseball,” Branch said. “I felt shut out. Nobody ever asked us. They just told us very early on, ‘Here’s our plan.’ This is why we’re doing it and it was just that.

“My question is, do you really need that (space)?” Branch continued. “We can’t find another space?

“So I would ask them (now), are you really confident with your decision, or do you know in your heart when you go to sleep at night that you tried every other avenue to make anything else work than what you got to follow through with? Yeah, it just seems like they came up with something that was easy for them.”

In response to the intense backlash to the Pali High administration and LAUSD decision, Adam Licea, Pali High director/vice principal for activities, athletics and discipline, later sent a statement to baseball families.

“We understand the significant impact that this decision could have on the baseball program and the student-athletes who are part of it,” Licea wrote. “The program’s success and the positive influence it has on our community are truly commendable. Your points about the importance of ensuring that no student feels that their interests are less important than others are well taken. It is crucial that we consider the emotional and psychological well-being of all our students, especially in the wake of the recent trauma they have experienced.

“We understand that adjusting to the baseball field’s unavailability will be challenging, and we appreciate your patience as we navigate this situation. We are working to secure Palisades Park as a potential practice facility when the time comes and will also explore suitable locations for home games to ensure our teams have a proper place to compete. Please know that this decision was not made lightly, and we recognize its impact not just on baseball but on other sports that utilize the field as well. Also note that the decision to utilize the baseball field was a joint decision led by LAUSD after careful consideration, prioritizing student safety and providing a conducive learning environment. We are actively planning ahead to accommodate all affected teams and will keep you updated on our progress.”

Instead, parents and players said they received little if any communication from Pali High and LAUSD officials as the Dolphins bounced from park to park through the season, traveling as much as 45 minutes to practice and play at one “home field,” trying to field fly balls in an outfield full of loose dogs at another. At one field they shared a single batting cage with a private coach, another school and local Little League teams.

Pali parents and players maintain that what they describe as the LAUSD and school administration’s lack of urgency is also reflected in their failure to secure a permanent home field for the next school year.

There are plenty of people outside of LAUSD and the school offering to help. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts invited the Dolphins onto the field at Dodger Stadium during batting practice April 26. Pali High pitcher Jett Teegardin threw out the first pitch.

“But as of right now, they do not have a place,” Voelkel said. “There’s been a bunch of ideas that have been thrown out there, but so far, nothing has come to fruition. So I’m, I’m not sure what the direction or what the future holds, as far as you know, a baseball field to practice, and then also to play games at.”

On a recent morning Branch was gardening on the Palisades lot where his family’s home sat only months earlier.

“Planting some watermelon, some tomatoes,” he said. “Trying to get something to grow.”

He recalled January 7.

“Looking up at these hills right now, and I just keep on thinking about that day,” Branch said. “I was the last one to leave this neighborhood. We had no water and false hope that there was going to be a water truck pulling up with two or three fire trucks and we were going to save the houses in this cul-de-sac. (But) I had to leave. And when I finally got back up here, looking and seeing the standing houses that are out here is pretty unbelievable. I didn’t think anything was standing when I left. The fire had its choice on what to take.”

And it didn’t take the baseball field, which is why the LAUSD and school administration’s decision to pave over it infuriates Branch and so many other Pali High families.

“Driving by the high school just earlier, just an hour ago,” Branch said. “I’m looking down there and already seeing buildings on the field. There’s already the bungalows, and it’s all black top with asphalt. Man, so every time I drive by there, it’s going to be a little kick in the pants. They’ve literally black-topped over it. I get pissed every time I drive by it.”