Field conditions - is this normal?

[YoungBuck]

I'm a fan of schools playing on community fields (I know that's not the norm everywhere). Can be less of a burden on the school. The town I grew up in had a college and two high schools using community football, baseball, softball, and hockey facilities. Works great when done correctly.

 

[Cannonball]

Many times, but not always, those rocks are brought onto the field when the school pays for less than quality dirt to be added to the field during summer months. We had that for a short while where I coach until I had enough. We use a product called, "dredge" and it is tremendous. Instead of breaking up the field which results in the dust, we roll the field. We put turface in the areas of the bases to assist in sliding. We have cut down on our rainouts and we have zero dust. We do have to raise some money to help pay for the dredge. (I'm sure it has another name but that is what we were told to call it.)

 

[LEsoftballdad]

DD school is getting new turf fields for just that reason - easy maintenance!

When you consider these fields only see action ~ 20 times a season, but you have maintain them almost year round turf makes a lot of sense for Northern schools.

We had a new field dedicated last season for our HS team. The school renovated the JV field and made it our new varsity field. The school chose not to install turf because they use a portion of the outfield for JV field hockey, so they didn't want to spend the money to turf the whole area. It was a big mistake. You should see them attempt to play field hockey on a somewhat bumpy field as opposed to the turf football/soccer field they use for varsity games.

 

[Tatonka]

Many times, but not always, those rocks are brought onto the field when the school pays for less than quality dirt to be added to the field during summer months. We had that for a short while where I coach until I had enough. We use a product called, "dredge" and it is tremendous. Instead of breaking up the field which results in the dust, we roll the field. We put turface in the areas of the bases to assist in sliding. We have cut down on our rainouts and we have zero dust. We do have to raise some money to help pay for the dredge. (I'm sure it has another name but that is what we were told to call it.)

Yes, we had that same issue here at our HS field for awhile. Major issue with drainage across the infield, specifically 1B to Home and flowing down under the backstop, constantly washing out the infield dirt and leaving trenches. They'd bring in more dirt that was almost always filled with rock. Still a problem but it improved slightly with a construction project at an adjacent Elementary school.

Additionally, besides the wind/dust/rocks we regularly had to contend with goose poop, bear/deer and elk scat in the outfield. Had to chase off some Bull Elk on more than one occasion during games so the visiting spectators (city folk usually) wouldn't get hurt.

 

[Tatonka]

DD school is getting new turf fields for just that reason - easy maintenance!

When you consider these fields only see action ~ 20 times a season, but you have maintain them almost year round turf makes a lot of sense for Northern schools.

Seems to be popular in the MidWest.

 

[Orange Socks]

Needs a pallet of field conditioner like Turface which will reduce the dust, retain moisture, but dries faster if that makes any sense. There is a science to it for sure.

 

[sluggers]

Are these normal field conditions? I don't recall seeing this anywhere else she's played.

Check the baseball field. That should tell you what "normal" is for your school.

 

[JumboJack]

Normal? No. Common? Yes.


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[chevy706]

The check the baseball field is the correct answer. Whether it's normal or not is immaterial. Is it equal between the boys and girls fields, and therefore in compliance with Title IX? If so, not much you can make the school do, it would be incumbent upon coaches, players, and parents. If not, just mention a Title IX investigation at the next school board meeting regarding the situation and see how fast it gets fixed.

 

[DonnyS]

Had to chase off some Bull Elk on more than one occasion during games so the visiting spectators (city folk usually) wouldn't get hurt.

We deal with weather (rain, snow, hail, wind) and small critters at times, but this wins the internet today.