formation from a Brownfield to a Greenfield site Our complex conceptual designincludes one full-size multi-use stadium field with seating up to 5000 14 full-sizesoccer fields eight youth-size fields five baseballsoftball fields with full fencingbleachers and batting cage and five asphalt basketball courts says TriggAmenities will include 1500 paved parking spaces with 500 overflow spaces threebuildings for small concessionaires to serve on-site patrons two picnic groves thatmay include small playgrounds and restroom facilities conveniently locatedthroughout the site

At the Waukegan Park District we believe that proper playing conditions andmaintenance of fields is extremely important and are obligated to provide the bestand safest fields We identified the importance of Attention to Details in all of ourfield maintenance operations The importance of detail in either our daily fieldpreps routine field maintenance such as field painting turf cultural practices orfall field renovation projects says Trigg

Full-time park maintenance worker Tony Diaz under the supervision of ScottMacLean is responsible for all District athletic field maintenance operations Assummer seasonal staff is hired Tonys emphasis is placed on proper training so theemployee understands what is expected when preparing a ball diamond

Tony and his seasonal staff prepare for more than 2300 sporting field eventsrunning from April through November In soccer alone the fields played more than1300 soccer activities on 14 fields and could easily double that amount if more soc-cer fields were available for play says Trigg Use of Grosche Fiield is in highdemand not only for local games but also weekend rentals for Chicagos MensSenior baseball and White Sox baseball youth clinics

As superintendent my goals have been to develop a positive departmentalimage through service responsiveness and consistency in daily assignments saysTrigg In addition promote a positive safety attitude and create an atmosphere thatstresses the importance of quality and encourages cooperative teamwork

I also have hanging in my office a framed quotation from one of my first eversports turf programs It was from a presentation given by Dr Richard Caton It statesPrior Planning and Prudent Preparation Prevent Poor Performance I cant tell youhow true this is for me with our park maintenance operations Whether schedulingdaily maintenance tasks or long-range capital improvement projects the prior plan-ning and preparation makes for efficient performance Trigg adds

Career advancementI read an article in another periodical that stated the importance of keeping on

top of the latest issues and trends in your profession and gather and share solutionsto day-to-day challenges with other colleagues In addition seek out resources toimprove your performance and make important networking contacts by renewingmembership in professional associations This definitely sounds like great advice forany sports turf manager Trigg says

I truly believe STMA has a lot to offer for anyone either new in the industry orwith years of experience to develop into the best professional they can be

httpwwwsportsturfmanagercom bull STMA

For me the benefits of STMA membership began hittinghome with the establishment of the Midwest Chapter in 1990 Itook an active role as workshop chairman organizing several sportsturf workshops in the early 90s As I mentioned earlier the thrillin having Harry Gill as a speaker In addition the first ever sportsturf workshops at the Chicago Bears Training Center with sportsturf manager Ken Mrock and in 1992 at Wrigley Field withFrank Capparelli and grounds manager Roger OConnor I alsoorganized the Chapters First Annual Meeting and Luncheon inMarch 1991 asking Steve Wightman at Jack Murphy Stadium tocome to be our guest speaker Also it was exciting having as ourKeynote Speaker Chicago Bear quarterback Jim Harbaugh

In 1992 and 1993 I was assisted by many in the MidwestChapter as we organized and conducted the National MidwestSports Turf Institutes at Wheaton College The institutes weredaylong events including educational sessions mini trade showsand keynote speakers We drew from National STMA Boardspeakers such as Gil Landry and Henry Indyk Trigg says

I attained my STMA certification in 2001 CSFM certifica-tion brings greater credibility to our profession It recognizes theeducation and training standards necessary to provide high qualitypark and recreation sports field facilities Attaining certificationsignifies to my peers that I have made a commitment to excel-lence I am proud of my profession and accomplishments as a

Certified Sports Field Manager says TriggI believe my involvement with STMA has contributed to my personal and pro-

fessional growth I urge everyone connected with this industry to get activelyinvolved to volunteer your time and talents to STMA or a chapter I know for methe more I give the more I get back ST

-Edited by Eric Schroder

streemllnerDRYLIJltlE MARKER

Visit us online or call anytimel

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SPORTSTURF 11

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High school hostsSuper Bowl p acticesBY RONNIE GRIFFIN 13 of the time in the classroom and 23 of the time out-

side for hands-on leaming One of our students spentsummer 2004 as an intern for the Jacksonville Suns thelocal double A baseball team Several students work atlocal golf courses and lawn maintenance companiesSome of these students are planning to further theireducation at either Abraham Baldwin AgriculturalCollege or Lake City Community College

This fall we hosted a workshop for the newly formedorth Florida Sports Turf Managers Association chap-

ter Many students were involved and are now membersofSTMA

Our fields were good by high school standardssome of the best in the area Minor problems includedpoor drainage irrigation and soil So to make the fieldplayable for the NFL renovations had to be made and

the work began last July The sod was removed and the soil taken out about 2 feetdown Some of the material taken out was used as a base for a 70-yard practice fieldnear our game field since two fields were needed Then drainage was installedaround the track and sideline and a mix of 90 sand and 10 peat was installed

It was about this time that Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne paid us a visit Wewere lucky to have had only minimal damage The project was delayed but it gavethe students an opportunity to work on the renovations Students helped rake and hadto blow off the track several times because of sand being blown by the storms Sincethe old field only had about a 6-inch cr()wn in the center it was decided the new fieldshould have a 12-inch crown The sod was Tifton 419 Bermudagrass and cut 2 inchesthick

The installation was finished on a Tuesday and we played our first game onFriday night We rescheduled our first 3 games of the season because of the delaysbut it was worth the wait Some of the Turfgrass students are football players so get-ting to play on the beautiful new field was especially exciting for them

During the renovations we had a special guest on our campus George Toma vis-ited to oversee the renovations What a treat At first many of the students didnt knowwho he is but they soon found out They learned of his experiences with the KansasCity Chiefs and Royals and all of the Super Bowls and Pro Bowls George took thetime to speak to the students about turf and their work ethic Students quickly learnedabout giving their best effort and then some Working side by side with Georgeprompted some students to help out on the field over weekends The students foundit funny that whenever he needed something George would call out hey son Theywere all like his adopted children We appreciated the opportunity to work with a leg-end

Ed Mangan of the Atlanta Braves and the NFL also visited several times We alsohad help from Ed Attalla and Bob Norman of the Jacksonville Suns They came outseveral times and helped us line our field and paint the logos Students also assistedwith oversee ding the fields

The challenge then was maintaining the fields We played soccer on them untilthe start of the year Students mowed the field with new mowers provided by Toroand the NFL We are proud to be the only high school chosen as a Super Bowl prac-tice site The students and faculty at Bartram Trail will always remember what a won-derful experience this has been STRonnie Griffin is the Turfgrass Instructor Bartram Trail High School and sec-retary of the new North Florida Chapter of STMA He can be reached at grif-finstjohnsk12f1us

When Super Bowl XXXIV was awarded toJacksonville FL one of the issues wasfinding practice sites for the teams The

team hotel for the AFC champion was at the WorldGolf Village and the only fields within the required dis-tance of the hotel were at local high schools The FLpicked Bartram Trail High School because it is seclud-ed has nice facilities and a Turfgrass Academy

We currently have 47 students enrolled inHorticultureffurfgrass classes The first year in theAcademy students must take Agriscience and we havemore than 100 students currently in that class In theseclasses we train students for careers in Landscape GolfCourse and Sports Turf Management We spend about

DuPonttradeTurf Blanketwith XavanlBl

Works as a buffer between your turf and the elementsThe DuPontTM Turf Blanket with DuPontTM Xavan is a highstrengthlightweight nonwoven polypropylene fabric that effectively helps minimizedamage from winterkill wind and insects It passes both air and water andhelps create a greenhouse-type environment (higher soil and airtemperatures retained moisture) conducive to root growth extends thegrowing season and allows for earlier green-up of your sports field

Ideal for over-wintering germinationand lateearly season daily covers

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For more information about DuPonttrade Turf Blanketscall Earth amp Landscape Solutions (ELS) at

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12 February 2005 SPORTSTURF bull httpwwwgreenmediaonlinecom

STMA announces FOYAward winners

Eight fields were selected to receive the 2004 Field of the Year award and two were selected as the 2004Complex of the Year

The winners are

BaseballProfessional Thomas Nielsen Louisville Slugger Field Louisville KYCollegiate Jarad Alley Isotopes Park Albuquerque NMSchoolslParks Joseph Harris Doubleday Field Cooperstown NY

FootballProfessional Chris Morrow Dallas Cowboys Football Facility Irving TXCollegiate Leo GoertzCraig Potts Kyle Field at Texas AampM College Station TXSchoolslParks Jim Wilson Blue Valley District Activities Complex Football Field Overland Park KS

SoccerSchoolslParks John Netwal CGCS orth Scott Community Schools Eldridge IA

SoftballCollegiate Jennifer Roeber Bowlin Stadium-Haymarket Park Lincoln NE

ComplexProfessional Joe Kennedy III Surprise Recreation Campus Surprise AZSchoolslParks Blair Elliot Aspen Recreation Center Community Campus Aspen CO

Got Poor Quality WaterSealsler Seashore Paspalum

Keeps Your Irrigation Options Open

Option A OptionBRecycled Water

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Streams CanalsRivers PondsLakes Wells ampBrackish Water

-Most Salt Tolerant Turfgrass -Excellent Winter Hardiness-Tolerates Gray Water amp Effluent Certified Seashore Paspalum - Perfect for Sports Fields

-Darker Green Color Than Berrnudagrass -Recommended pH Levels 55-80-High Tolerance to Salt Spray amp Water Logging -Excellent Low Light Intensity Tolerance

-Good Rooting in Sandy Clay or Muck-Type Soils - Tree-Shade Tolerance Similar to Bermuda-Low Fertilization and Minimal Pesticide Requirements -Can Be Overseeded with Bentgrass-Ryegrass Blends

For More Infonnatkion and a List of Licensed Growers VISitwwwseaisleIcom

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14 February 2005

PROTECTIVE WALLPADDING

Player protection is of prime importancein the making of all Covermaster customstadium padding Products include outfieldwall padding for baseball end zonepadding for football as well as padding forany type of rails and posts arounddugouts bullpens walkways steps etcWhether completely enclosed or customdesigned with plywood backingCovermaster padding products can bemade to meet every stadium needSponsor messages markers or teamlogos can also be provided forCovermaster8oQ-387-S808For information circle 082 orsee nHIPlWVlfWlaquomerSlmSCOJf4570-0~2

NET BUILDERSNetex Canada Netting Inc is a perimeter

rope bordered netting fabricator for cus-tom-sized barrier nets and batting cagesWith 6 full time net builders they offer highquality experienced service for net deliveryacross North America Installation servicesconsultation and structural engineering areavailable upon request Netex designbuildsstructural steel engineered baseball polesup to 70-ft that can include custom lightingsystemsNetex Canada N4jrtinllHOO-OU-n~HH

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Our websitewwwbobcatcom0401Toll-free for FREEVideo Catalog and Buyers Guide

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BY PHIL BROWN AND DR BERT MCCARTY

Understanding andminimizing soil compaction

oil compaction is becoming an ever more prevalent problemwithin the turf world With the surge of athletic events andpractice on a limited number of fields unhealthy turf andplaying conditions are emerging Facilities wishing to attractadditional revenue are facing the situation where the more

customers they attract the greater the traffic on the turf and thus the greater theamount of soil compaction

Soil compaction is the pressing together of soil particles resulting in a moredense soil mass with less pore space When the soil particles push together theyoccupy a smaller space thus are considered compact

Compaction occurs in areas receiving the most traffic Athletic training fieldsare a high compaction riskdue to the near dailyusage and the evolution oflarger and stronger partici-pants Other areas at riskare recreational fieldsopen to almost unlimitedplay and practice It is notjust foot traffic causingcompaction but alsovehicular traffic Dailymowing periodic topdress-ing and fertilizing requireheavy machinery to per-form thus additionalsources of compaction

Soil compaction canoccur at any time howev-er it is most acute whenthe soil is wet This isfrom the water in the soilacting as a lubricant moreeasily allowing the soilparticles to slide past eachother with less resistancethan when they are dry This is amplified when soil high in silt or clay is used dur-ing construction These soils remain wet longer following rain and the smaller sizeof these soil particles allows them to press closer together

ing soil particles to move closer to one another reducing pore spaceThese physical changes can have detrimental effects on turfgrass growth such

as decreased root growth decreased shoot growth reduced carbohydrate reservesand decline in overall quality Destruction of the soil structure also may occurThe resulting soil often becomes hard as a brick when dry and a mud holewhen wet The turf eventually thins potholes develop and the resulting hard sur-faces can cause player injury

PreventionConstructing fields with sands that do not compact is the first step in prevent-

ing soil compaction This involves replacing the existing soil with a pre-approvedsand-based rootzone mix thatbalances good water man-agement and compactionprevention Unfortunatelysand-based athletic fields aremore expensive to build

The most common wayof reducing compaction ofexisting soil is through theuse of soil cultivation tech-niques Most of these tech-niques operate by physicallyaltering the soil profile insome way be it by removingparts of the soil or by alteringthe structure of the soil Agreat deal of diversity existsamong the cultivation tech-niques available

The most popularmethod of reducing existingsoil compaction is hollowtine aerification Hollow tineaerifiers are hollow tubes 12to 34-inch in diameter and

3 to 12-inches long designed to pull plugs out of the soil thus reduce the amountof soil per unit area They operate on the principle that if less soil is present then alower mass per unit area (or bulk density) results Note that hollow tine aerifica-tion can disrupt the surface considerably the equipment can be expensive andgenerally requires a medium sized tractor

The disruption cause by hollow tines has increased the popularity of solid tineaerification Solid tines are designed to enter the soil vertically and shatter (dis-rupt) the structure of the soil as they are retracted from it Since solid tines do notpull out plugs of soil like hollow tines they require very little clean up saving onlabor costs and helping keep the playing surface smoother However there is aquestion over the effectiveness of solid tines since they do not remove any soilmaterial and therefore might not be reducing the bulk density of the soil

Adaptations to hollow and solid tine aerification include both deep tine aerifi-cation and spiking Deep tine aerifiers are hollow and solid tine aerifiers able to

Problems causedCompaction can also cause a number of soil problems including an increase

in bulk density an increase in soil strength or firmness a reduced aeration porosi-ty and an altered pore size distribution when soils are highly pressed together

Bulk density is a measure of mass or weight per unit area In compacted situa-tions due to the increase in number of soil particles in the area the mass willincrease This also contributes to the reduction in aeration porosity as the closersoil particles are to one another less pore space exists Sufficient pore space allowsair water and other nutrients to enter the soil a reduction in this eventually leadsto poor turf Non-uniform pore size distribution also can contribute to this caus-

16 February 2005 SPORTSTURF bull httpwwwgreenmediaonlinecom

or a series of teeth set on a rotating bladeSimilar to slicing is grooming

Grooming operates in a similar mannerbut the blades are attached to a walk-behind mower The blades used in groom-ing are much smaller and thinner thanthose used in slicing as the technique isgenerally used in the prevention of matand grain formation on turfgrass Theblades are powered to revolve against thedirection of machine movement Due tothe shallow blades grooming is unlikely tohave a great deal of effect on deep com-pact areas but helps in alleviating or pre-venting compaction in the upper soil pro-file

Supplements to the use of machineryinclude reducing or altering the traffic pat-

tern on the turf especially when the soil is excessively wet On football and soccerfields concentrated practices should be performed or rotated on different parts ofthe field Using only lightweight machinery and minimizing its use and practicewhen soils are saturated also help prevent soil compaction

Soil compaction is a serious issue among the turfgrass community and one thathas possible legal ramifications It can cause the deterioration of turf quality and bea danger to participants Take steps to relieve this problem or eventually undesirableturf and soil conditions will develop

penetrate to depths of up to 12 inchesSpiking is similar to solid tine aerificationexcept the tines are thinner and shorterSpiking is designed where the surface ofthe turf requires as little disturbance aspossible

The hydroject operates on a similarprinciple to solid tine aerification butinstead of a tine high-pressured jets ofwater are used The water is pushed intothe soil under pressures of 2000 psienabling it to reach a depth of roughly 8inches The water not only aids in therelief of compaction but helps water pene-trate to the lower parts of the soil profileredistributes organic matter in the soiland wet hydrophobic (excessively dry) soil

Another technique that operates in asimilar way to the original solid and hollow tine aerifiers is drill-n-fill Drillinginvolves using a piece of machinery with drill bits attached to it The bits are drilledinto the ground creating deep holes As is the nature of a drill some soil from thehole is brought up to the surface lowering bulk density This however is not in thesame quantities as conventional hollow tine aerification Some machines allow thehole to be filled with sand and tend to cause less surface disruption than conven-tional aerifiers Unfortunately these machines are relatively slow when compared toother aerifiers but do not disrupt the surface as much as deep-tine aerification

Other techniques use a horizontal motion Slicing for example is using arolling blade to cut slits into the soil The slicer helps break up the soil surfacereducing surface compaction as it does so Slicing also helps soil water and airexchange and slices algae and turfgrass runners Slicing blades can be continuous

Phil Brown earned his Masters degree under Dr McCarty at ClemsonUniversity and now is working on his PhD in soil physics at Clemson Hecan be reached at philipbclemsonedu

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18 SPORTSTURF bull httpwwwgreenmediaonlinecomFebruary 2005

Keep sof bal maintenancecosts in the ballparkBY MARK NOVAK AND PATRICK MAGUIRE

As the days grow longer the first signs of spring bring with it the excite-ment of a new season Yet whatever opportunities the season may bringfor athletes athletic fields bring their own set of management chal-

lenges how to increase usage and improve field conditions on limited budgetsWith the unique combination of skinned infields turf areas and other facility ele-ments softball fields are some of the most difficult athletic facilities to properlymaintain Attention to detail and creative athletic field design can help to reducescheduling headaches and keep annual maintenance costs in the ballparkFollowing are several cost-effective techniques that will help to improve playingconditions and increase the life span of softball facilities

Customize the infield mix Composed primarily of sand silt and clay theskinned area of a softball field might be the most delicate and maintenanceintense component of all athletic field surfaces In fact many high-level facilitieshave staff dedicated solely to the upkeep of softball (and baseball) facilities

Determining the composition of an infield mix directly influences both theplayability of the field and how well it will respond to various weather conditionsAcross the country there is an enormous variety in climatic conditions and just asmany variations in infield mix design In New England weather ranges from coldand wet months in the spring and fall to hot and dry during the summer A typicalratio for an infield mix in the northeastern portion of the country also reflects theareas climatic conditions 60-75 sand 9-25 silt and 16-25 clay The high per-centage of sand helps keep the infield mix playable in the spring and fall while thepercentage of clay helps maintain the skinned areas moisture during the dry sum-mer months Each softball field is unique and the design of the infield mix shouldbe considered the same

Water efficiently Watering the skinned areas is necessary to maintain a consis-tent infield mix Water is the glue that holds the components of the infield mixtogether During the softball season and the hot dry months of summer skinnedareas can require water up to three to four times daily

Springfield College in Springfield MA last year experienced an extremelydusty softball infield The colleges president called in a design consultant to assess

20 February 2005

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