SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/86038
FieldScience >> Top right: Thirty-five soccer matches in 7 days on Soccer- Plex Stadium (2011 FOY). Note the multiple lines (full sided that got slid over during a weekend tournament and small sided fields for matches that got played dur- ing the week prior). >> Overseeding a native soil Kentucky blue- grass field. The KBG fields at SoccerPlex re- ceive more than 750 hours of traffic per year. proper balance, these three hormones work together to reach the end goal of healthy, natural growth. Plants dealing with heavy traffic and stress also benefit from extra amino acids and carbohydrates. As needed, managers can sup- plement these "vitamins" to sustain the natural plant processes like photosynthesis, respiration, and recovery from antioxidants. With the use of biostimulants in conjunction with plant growth regulators, Sports Turf Managers are able to exercise more control over plant growth processes. Different demands on fields and un- >> Bottom right: Lacrosse field shifted to the far side of the field. predictable weather conditions change the needs of the turfgrass plant almost daily, so monitoring plant processes at all times in con- junction with weather and traffic sets the "diet" for maintained plant health throughout the year. TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT Traffic management is the most labor-intensive piece of the puzzle for high traffic field success. However, the cost of labor on the front side of field deterioration should be seen as pro-active and preventa- tive. Overall, it actually saves money and labor once a field requires sod work or a field must be closed for a complete renovation. Manag- ing traffic effectively will allow all fields to remain open during the full duration of the event season and require less "repair" work. Traffic management includes two parts: Re-sizing and shifting fields to adjust traffic patterns; and addressing traffic patterns di- rectly to improve weak areas Re-sizing and shifting field layouts moves high traffic areas and provides the embattled turfgrass in those areas a chance to recover. Soccer and lacrosse fields have the most flexibility for re-sizing and shifting because the rules call for minimums and maximums on the competition dimensions. Start with shifting the center of the field. The core of soccer and lacrosse is played up and down the center of the field. High traffic areas such as goalmouths, referee lines, and bench areas get moved accordingly with the move of the field center. Swapping the side of the bench areas is also important. Teams for all sports warm up directly in front of their bench. In one day of seven soccer matches, a 15-yard x 15-yard area directly in front of each bench sees a minimum of 126 players stretching and kicking to get loose. Rotating the bench areas from one side of the field to the other in conjunction with shifting the field allows the field to experience optimum recovery. American football fields are much narrower than soccer or >> Repainting lacrosse fields (at night) 2 days into a 4-day lax tour- nament (fields took 36 games of lax in 4 days due to the move). lacrosse fields, so they too can be shifted and moved. This is espe- cially true for practice fields where goal posts are not required. With a slight shift, the heavy traffic area of the center of the field allows recovery. The key to football, as with all sports, is to spend time commu- nicating and educating the user groups and coaches to empower 12 SportsTurf | October 2012 www.sportsturfonline.com