Field conditions - is this normal?

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Jan 25, 2022
880
93
My daughter's HS team has been complaining for 2 years about rocks on the field and the AD says it's normal and even if they picked up rocks everyday more would just show up. DD says other schools and travel fields don't have rocks - any idea why we do? Also the field is so dusty. The AD says the sprinkler works but on windy days we get this: Are these normal field conditions? I don't recall seeing this anywhere else she's played.


If more rocks reappear, could it be that it's just being dragged too deep? Rocky dirt getting turned over instead of just groomed on the surface.
 
Apr 1, 2017
535
93
Likely a poor mix that has the rocks in it, combined with it getting too dry and all the finer particles get blown away, leaving the rocks more exposed.
 

GIMNEPIWO

GIMNEPIWO
Dec 9, 2017
171
43
VA
Checked baseball facilities yesterday - no rocks, a couple little pebbles, nicely watered (or soil conditioners holding some moisture) and chalked and they didn't even have a game yesterday. Parents would be more than happy to get out there and drag the field - we're not allowed, "we'll take care of it" or "I'd do something but the coaches haven't complained". Our AD even turned away a donation we secured for dugout covers - after much complaining he bought them anyway and they have been sitting in a shed for over a month. Yesterday DD was hit in the head at practice, in the dugout, by a pop up - thankfully she happened to be wearing her batting helmet.

After a year of advocating for better facilities, and getting yessed to death, the softball boosters are getting ready to circulate a petition and file a title IX complaint with the BOE, Super, and AD. We have an ancient, poorly maintained facility with a broken sprinkler (for at least 2 years now) and baseball has everything - real dugouts (we have a rusty uncovered fence), they have a real outfield fence (we have a temp fence for the season), they have lights, water fountains, cameras, and ADA access to the bleachers - we have none of those. The MS uses the field for recess year-round, even though there is a field a 30 second walk away - it's "too far". We also have a new coach this year who only a handful of times submitted highlights to the local paper and doesn't know how to calculate a BA - included BB's in the calculation.... Sorry for the rant, I'm so frustrated - we have a 150M budget but they can't find a scrap of $ for the girls. Well they are going to have to.
I never had to file a complaint, only say the words ... BUT, the AD was on my side* ... He treated us fairly out of the Athletics budget and the Athletic Boosters were A#1 to us, but what we needed was money from the school system to bring our field up to par ... Sprinklers, Press box etc. ... We did our own fund raising for other things, but just to get them to sign off on it and allow us to do them was a battle. Best of luck !

AD confided in me that when the Superintendent approached him and asked "What's with your softball coach sending us a letter threatening Title IX"? He told him that "He is doing exactly what I want ALL my coaches to do, fight for his program".
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
The dust yes...the rocks NO. Rocks do not magically appear, if the field is dragged regularly and correctly this issue should resolve itself...does that mean you won't see an occasional rock no but should be the exception.
 
Mar 17, 2022
4
3
In the rec center where daughter played we had a rock picking up day, one Saturday each team had a set time where players and parents showed up and picked up rocks, seemed to work out pretty good.
 
Jul 20, 2021
7
3
My daughter's HS team has been complaining for 2 years about rocks on the field and the AD says it's normal and even if they picked up rocks everyday more would just show up. DD says other schools and travel fields don't have rocks - any idea why we do? Also the field is so dusty. The AD says the sprinkler works but on windy days we get this: Are these normal field conditions? I don't recall seeing this anywhere else she's played.

It sounds like the field was made on the cheap. They decided to clear the grass from an area for the infield, cut the grass in the outfield, put up some fences, lay down the bases, paint some lines, and call it a softball field. I would recommend digging out a foot or so of the rocky soil and replacing it with quality dirt that has been sifted of rocks and debris. Pack it down with a heavy roller, then water it in. A field can't just be forgotten when the season is over. You have to maintain it year round. That's one mark of a championship program.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Disclaimer: I didn't read whole thread. I heard a local private HS has a artificial turf field that the filler is... wait for it....... coconut husk. Supposedly its great.. You have to water it lightly and it keeps temperatures down.
 

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