Field of the Year

Softball Field of the Year

(.Moore FieLdofPutnam City West HS

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BY suz TRUSTY

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Moore I,'ield of Putnam City West High School, Oklahoma City, OK,earned the STMA 2002 Softball Field of the Year Award in the HighSchool/Parks and Recreation Division. The field, constructed in 1994,

was named for former coach and initial developer of the facility, CharlieMoore.

Field management is the responsibility, and the passion, of Rick Newville,who became coach of the Lady Patriots fastpitch soitbail program in July2001. He had transferred to the school from Putnam City North in August2000 to teach biology to sophomore and Junior students and to join West'sfour-coach baseball staff as all assistant. Soon after, he instigated a renovationprogram for Patriot Field that rallied the forces of the school, coaches, play-ers, Booster Club, and community, These efforts earned Patriot Field STMAbaseball field of the year honors in 2001_ So it W2S easy to anticipate he'dfocus the sallie forces 011 C. Moore Field when he took over the softball pro-gram, His passion for the perfect field began long before 81aL

The interest was sparked when Newville and his friend Monte McCoy(now sports turf manager for the Oklahoma RedHawks Baseball Club) playedcollege baseball at El Reno [unior College (now Redlands CommunityCollege), Newville moved on to complete his Bachelors degree in scienceeducation at the University of Oklahoma, He began teaching and coachingwithin his currenL school district in August 1994. He and l'vkCoy coachedAmerican League baseball together in Norman, Then McCoy headed theprogram the earned the Beam Clay Diamond of the Year award for OklahomaUniversity.

The passion for perfection, experience as <I player, and science educationproduce a winning combination and Newville makes full use of it. He says,"My science background enables me to work with the concepts of field man-agement and the hands-on labor turns those concepts mtc action, Seeing thcimpact of field maintenance on safety and playability got me hooked. And,working with students gives me the ability to use the field care aspect asanother educational tool."

C. Moore Field was in need of special attention. All cultural practices onthe field had been neglected throughout the spring ami early summer monthsof2001 Then Mother Nature Lurned up the hCdtwith scveralluu-plusdegree clays thrown into the always hot, dry conditions. By [uly, this hadresulted in a weed-covered, burned up surface.

"My first task was heavy Irrigation to soften tlic soil," says Newville. "Then

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flightly core aerificd to aid in moisture pene-tration. The outfield in-ground irrigationsystem had been installed in 1997_ Itconsists of four zones with a totalof 16 heads. There is no m-ground irrigation for the wingsor the skinned surface, but wedo have quick connect valvesbehind the plate and next tothe first base dugout.

"Before the initial develop-ment of the field, the area hadbeen used as <J landfill site duringconstruction of the west wing of thehigh school, so deep, underlying debrisdoes affect some field maintenance issues.C. Moore Field is a native soil, with a combinationof loam to sandy loam soilthat provides adequate infil-tration and percolation rates.There IS no crown on thefield, but the natural slope ofthe site was retained in theconstruction and providessurface drainage runningfrom home plate toward firstbase."

The turf is basically com-mon bermudagrass, withsome sections where sad ofimproved varieties has been installed in front of dugouts, behind the plate, andon the back side of the infield. This came about through the efforts of a formercoach who had worked out the donation ofleftover pallets of sod during con-struction of a local housing development.

Newville says, "I gradually lowered the turf height of cut from mid-July tomid-August, going from approximately 2 inches to 718 of an inch, Post-emer-gence herbicide also was applied during this time to eliminate weeds. Webrought in 30 tons of infield clay and h.I/O tons of calcined clay and worked itinto the skinned area to bring it back to playable condition. We cut sod from anearby area to fin in the weakest spots of the field and redefined the skinnedarea. Softball is a fall sport for Oklahoma City high schools. By opening day inmid-August, the field was 'playable.' Many considered it one of the better sur-faces around. But T felt more improvements were essential to give our playersthe best surface possible."

As soon as the softball season ended in October, Newville began aggressivefield reconstruction and renovation. I-Ie says, "We brought in 130 tons ofinfield clay to bring the skinned area up to grade. We installed warning tracksof crushed volcano rock. \Ve began a topdressing program using washed sand.

"Winter weather shut us down, but we started <lgamm the spring of 2002,eoonlinating the projects around the teams' spring workouts. We'd reached theinfield clay consistency I was after: 60 percent sand, 15 percent silt, and 25percent clay. \Ve tilled four tons of calcined clay inlo the infield skin and top-dressed with two tons of vitrified clay. We also tackled facility facelift improve-ments. \Ve added a new 300-seat bleacher set. Players' parents and boosterclub members helped erect a permanent outfield fence and paint all buildingstructures a neutral 'ballpark' green."

School district funding for the softball program is very limited, so otherresources were needed. The ASSIstantCoach is the Athletic Director, MikeNunley, who is totally supportive of the field improvement program and therallying of volunteer support to accomplish it. The booster club IS the primeresource for funding.

Newville says, "Our softball and baseball booster clubs combine with thebaseball program to cover the leasing costs on the two reel mowers the pro-grams share, a 68-inch triplex anel a 25-inch walk behind. They split themonthly payments. The softball and baseball booster clubs also worked with

the school to purchase a bunker rake for the1\\'0 programs. I've worked out a cooper-

ative agreement with a local agricul-ture and hlrf product company.

They supply us with additionalseed, fertilizer, conditioners,herbicides, fungicides, andinsecticides m exchange forsignage at the field. Use ofequipment such as aerators,

rollers and sad cutters isacquired through a similar

trade out agreement. The boosterclub provides additional fumling for

both renovation materials and dailymaintenance materials that <Ireneeded

beyond those supplied through the cooperativearrangements and theschool district budget."

Additional improve-ments continued beforeand after the 2002 playingseason Newville says, 'Thewarning track had a ten-dency to become powderyand dusty. To combat thisand make the surfacefirmer, we topdressed withclay and raked it in. Weredefined the back side of

Newville makes good use of hispassion for perfection, experienceas a pLayer,and science education.

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SPORTSTURF 9

Field of the Year

the infield, creating more of diamond, than a rounded, shape, attacking the lipat the same time. vVe removed the sod, releveled where the eXIsting 3TC hadbeen, and established the new outfield edge. During November, we installed aFrench drain on the back side of first base, the field's low spot, rumung a later-alline from that point 10 outside the playing surface."

C. Moore Field plays host to the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman fast-pitch teams. 11131puts a total of90 games on the field each fall, III addition tothe daily practices in which the three teams participate. A middle school tour-nament also is held m the fall. This past season, Oklahoma City University andthe USAO in Chickasha, OK, played a doubleheader there. Our three teamshave workouts, though not mandatory practices, throughout the summer. Acouple of the summer league teams also me it for their practices. Team physi-cals are held the first of August, followed by the official workout and practicesessions and the fall playing season.

On a typical day during the season, Newville will arrive at the schoolaround 7:00 am to water the infield before classes begin at 7:45. He'll hit thefield again late in the morning when his teaching stint is completed for the

A May tornado destroyed two storage buildings and blew them ontothe field, where they were pulled off with a tractor,

Newvttte once again will have to rally his team to get the fieLdback in Field of the Year condition.

10 July 2003

day. Field preparation follows. Hesays, "Much of work will be doneat night, post game, wiLh the helpof the players and a couple stu-dent groundskeepers. I'll groomthe warning track and tooth dragthe infield with the bunker rake.They'll leaf rake the euges andthen help me with pitching cir-cle and home plate repaIr. We'lltarp these overnight. Studentsalso help with cleanup, includ-ing the dugouts.

"After class, l'll do anyrebuilding needed on the pitch-ing circle and plate area, ThenI'll float drag and then mat dragthe skinned area and manicurethe edges. I'll water the infieldagain around noon. Next, I'lldouble cut the outfield with thetriplex and walk mow the wingsin one direction. 1 generally keepthe turf height at 3/4 to SIS-inch,depending on weather conditions andfield use schedules. 1 burn the stripes from foul pole to foul pole and fromhome to second, I'll water for the third time about an hour before the girlscome out for their 2: 30 PM practice or on game days, just prior to the 4:00PM game."

Newville overseeds the bermudagrass to keep active turf growth throughoutas much of the year as possible ant] to improve aesthetics. He experimentedwith an intermediate blend of perennial ryegrass this past season. He S3yS,"Ipicked the blend for faster transition out III the spring, but we've had a coolerseason than usual, so bennudagrass resurgence has been delayed. The growthhabit of the blend is excellent, but maybe too fast to be practical. I've beenmowmg en:ry day throughout the off-season to keep itlooking good. It's also alighter green and seems to require a little more fertilizer. I'll probably go backto a perennial ryegrass blend this year."

With the field to the [Joint of meeting his standards, you'd think Newvillewould have an easy 2003. Mother Nature had other ideas. Multiple tornadoesmoved through Oklahoma City Oil May 8-9. Mike Nunley called him fromthe school early Saturday morning with news that the school and the field hadbeen hit. The auditorium roof had significant damage; the rest of the buildingwas spared.

The baseball and softball field fences were destroyed ami at the baseballfield, one of the lights was bent over in half and touching the ground. Thecinder block softball dugouts were damaged and the front facade of one waspulled up and off the ground. But plastic owls on top of the metal roofingwere still perched In place to fend off any birds. Two storage buildings wereblown onto the field and virtually destroyed. They had to be pulled off with atractor and chain. The screws and bolts that had held them together wereblown throughout the field, as were small sections of debris, The infieldamendments and warning track materials also were blown and scattered, buttraveled toward the south of the outfield turf, rather than into it. Furtheremphasizing the unpredictability of tornadoes, the bleachers didn't appear tobe touched.

Athletic fidel rqJalrs arc basically on hold until insurance inspections andadjustments are completed. But, with the already tight budgets and the exten-srve damage to the auditorium, it's very likely that Newville will need to onceagain rally his team, team parents and booster club to bring C. Moore Ficldback to Field of the Year condition. BT

Suz Tn/sty is director of communications for STMA. She can he reached aiSOO-JnJS75.

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2001 ..2002 Annual Mainte"tnce ProgramJuly-August 2001:Implementation of turf programLower height of cut from z-inches to 7/8-inchCore aerify in one direction with f/z-inch tines at 4-inch spacing;

break up cores.Fertilize with 32-3-8 with 3 "10 iron, 25 % SCU (sulphur coated urea)

at rate of 1/2 lb. of N/l000 square feet every two weeks.Fertilize once with 5-10-31 at rate of 1 lb. K.Work 30 tons of clay into infield.Redefine back of skinned area and sod along arc.Construct permanent outfield fence (booster parents)

September 2001:Fertilize with 18-23-12 at rate of 1 lb. of Njl000 square feet.Apply phosphorous at rate of 1 lb.jlOOO square feet.Core aerify in one direction; remove cores

October 2001:Overseed with transitional blend of 2/3 perennial ryegrass and 1/3

intermediate ryegrass at rate of 8 Ib.l000 square feet in outfieldand 10 lb.jl000 square feet on wings.

Topdress with washed sand at 1/4·inch rate.Continue mowing at 7/8-inch HOC.

November: 2001:Fertilize with 21-7-14 at rate of 1/2 lb. N/I000 square feet.Mowas needed.Install warning track in front of dugouts and backstop.

December 2001:Incorporate 90 tons of infield clay in skinned area.Mow as needed.

January - February 2002:Incorporate 40 tons of infield clay in skinned area.In February, fertilize with 18-5-10 with preemergent at rate of

1 lb. N/l0aO square feet.Mow as needed.

March 2002:Cut out warning tracks to outfield fence and remove sad.Mow as needed.

April - May 2002:Core aerate in two directions; remove cores.ropdress with washed sand at 1/4-inch rate.Fertilize with 18-5-10 with preemergence at rate of 1 lb.

N/I0aO square feet.Put down textile and crushed aggregate on warning tracks.Remove five-foot section of sod to remove back lip and redefine

arc; top dress with sand.Install removed sod to redefine home plate area.Mow daily.

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June 2002:Fertilize with 17-5-9 with 10"10sulphur at rate of 1/2 lb. N/l0aO

square feet.Stice aerate in two directions.Core aerate in one direction; remove cores.Spot treat with pcstemerqence herbicide if needed, following stan-

dard IPM practices.Mow daily.

July - August 2002:In July, treat for grubs if needed, following standard IPM practices.Fertilize with 21-7-14 at rate of 1 lb. N/I000 square feet.Slice aerate in two directions.Mow daily.

September 2002:Core aerate in one direction; remove cores.Fertilize with 18-24-12 at rate of 1 lb. N/I000 square feet.Apply phosphorous at rate of I lb./IOOO square feet.Mow daily.

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