Articles
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Wildly popular at the youth level, soccer and lacrosse are big tournament draws. One of the most successful formats—and one seeing tremendous growth—is small-sided play.
Youth-Sports Administration 101: Preventative Field Maintenance
Whether you own and operate sports facilities or have a user-group agreement, you still have the responsibility to ensure those facilities are safe and last the test of time. Maintaining them properly is the key.
Field Of Study
The old axiom, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” might be appropriate for almost any sports field this time of year. With play returning and athletes absolutely determined to make up for lost time, it’s not surprising fields aren’t looking their best.
Multi-Use Fields
When I think of multi-use fields and what it takes to provide a safe and consistent surface, I immediately think strategy—from inception to field maintenance. Athletic fields fail because of the following:
Condense Line Items
Over the last 3 years, the budget of the Mt. Airy Sports Complex in New Windsor, N.Y., has been significantly reduced while during the same period field usage more than tripled.
Considering Synthetic Turf
Having quality athletic fields is not only appealing to fans, but important for player safety. While there are many factors to consider when planning a new athletic field or stadium, one in particular is whether natural
A Tale Of Two Types Of Turf
Multiple factors should be considered when installing playing fields for parks and sports complexes, and chief among them is whether to install synthetic or natural turf. Each type has
Maintenance Pillars For Natural-Grass Athletic Surfaces
Communal spaces unite communities. Athletic surfaces are not solely dedicated fields: In open and flat areas, spontaneous games pop up among friends, families, and sports teams. Facility
Winning The War
A weed is most commonly defined as “a plant out of place.” It can more formally be defined as a plant that interferes with the welfare of humans or livestock or is otherwise objectionable. In
Soil Salinity
Soil salinity refers to the concentration of total dissolved salts in the soil. The dissolved salts release cations (positive charge) and anions (negative charge) to water.
Blade By Blade
Maintaining the largest sports complex in Arizona certainly comes with challenges, yet there are many rewarding aspects I still enjoy. Seeing all 18 soccer fields and four Little League
Stop The Insanity
As a Certified Sports Field Manager, I consult with dozens of municipalities, schools, and private sports organizations each year regarding problems with ball fields.
Practice Space
As the city of Lee's Summit, Mo. grew over the years, the youth-sports associations and the parks and recreation department have kept pace.
Rained Out Or Ruined For The Season
ТRain! Rain! Go away! Please come back another day!У Unfortunately, Mother Nature does not always listen, especially in April and May in Ohio.
Playing It Cool
Depending on whom you ask, the shredded Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) infillСor crumb rubber as it is more commonly knownСtypically used in synthetic-turf athletic fields, is perfectly safe or frighteningly hazardous.
Keep A Clean Complex
Maintaining a youth-sports complex is not a 9-to-5 job. As sports-turf managers, we help generate revenue for the local economy and provide a venue for teams to compete on safe, playable, environmentally friendly fields.
Inspect, Renovate, Replace
Every year, more than 20,000 adults and children are injuredСand some are killedСin accidents involving bleachers and other types of seating for which parks and recreation departments are responsible.
Give ФEm A Break
With more than 240,000 residents, the city's 62 parks, six recreation facilities, and six aquatic centers serve hundreds of thousands of people each year. One area that receives the most impact from this continuous use is the 47 athletic fields.
Capital Improvement Planning 101
Expanding or renovating an athletic complex is never easy. The decision to proceed is often determined by othersСor from various sourcesСand your task may be to help make the project come together.
Sports-Field Mowing Excellence
Parks and recreation maintenance crews tasked with mowing sports fields often have choices: just get the basic job done and mow the turf at least once a weekСtwice in heavy growing seasons, if they're lucky; or move the mowing to a higher plane.