It took a dislocated shoulder and torn ligament to figure it out, but South Tahoe High School student Kendhyl Delacour knows exactly what career she wants to pursue: physical therapy.

So imagine the 16-year-old’s surprise this year when she discovered her school was offering courses in a new 7,800-square-foot Sports Medicine building.

“I like it,” Delacour said. “We do a lot of lecture notes, which I don’t mind because I enjoy learning, and we do a lot of hands-on stuff.”

The facility, which cost about $5 million in local and state funds, was completed earlier this year. It opened to scores of eager students ready to take advantage of its state-of-the art equipment through a new Intro to Sports Medicine program.

Demand for the new course was so high that the school had to start a wait list, Assistant Principal Dennis Sarosik said.

“It’s a popular program,” he said. “People like what they see.”

Treadmills, weights, spin bikes and other cardio machines give students a chance to continue their physical education at all grade levels, while a replica physical therapy center allows them to practice providing treatment in real-life scenarios.

Tables for taping injuries and a hydrotherapy pool are also at students’ disposal.

The idea behind the facility and its new program is to get students ready for the workforce as early as possible, said Isaiah Tannaci, the high school’s director of sports medicine.

“There are so many careers out there,” he said, “so we’re trying to offer more than just the college option.”

So far, students seem to appreciate the new focus on sports medicine.

“The first couple days they came through, students were clapping,” Tannaci said.

Senior Dominic Diana, 17, said he has already learned a lot about sports injuries just a few weeks into the program.

“I play a lot of sports and want to learn about the injuries, possibly to pursue this as a career,” he said.

The facility, which functions partly as a classroom, will host several other courses in the future, Sarosik said. The high school is planning to adopt sports psychology, sports journalism and Spanish for the medical arts, shortly. Six classes are currently using the facility.

School district faces enrollment increase, financial challenges

Officials from the Lake Tahoe Unified School District reported an increase in enrollment from last year’s ending totals, resulting in a gain of 102 students. Enrollment is now at 3,832 students, according to Angie Keil, executive assistant to the superintendent.

Financially, the district was able to meet the state requirement of upholding a 3 percent reserve, according to officials. However, hitting that mark required using most of the funds from Special Reserve accounts.

The budget again reflects deficit spending of just under $400,000.

“The next two years will continue to be fiscally challenging,” Keil stated in an email, “and hopefully the Governor and Legislature will keep their funding restoration commitment for 2015-16 and bring relief to Lake Tahoe Unified School District.”

Community College to host auditions

The Lake Tahoe Community College Theatre Arts Department is looking for actors and staff to participate in the upcoming production of “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later.”

The event, to be performed through mid-November, will follow a 2010 theatrical production that focused on a Wyoming community’s reaction to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard.

Shepard was a gay college student who was tortured, tied to a fence and left for dead in Laramie, Wyo.

Auditions will be held Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. in the college’s Duke Theatre. Five men and five women are needed to play multiple characters ranging from 18 to 65 years old.

Light and soundboard operators, backstage crew and construction crew positions are also available.