SportsTurf

December 2012

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.

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Facility&Operations By Matt Kniffin PISCATELLI: We have two fields: our main field that our first and second baseball teams play on, and the second field which we have completely skinned and hosts our softball teams and youth teams. We also have a clubhouse, which was built for when we hosted the European Championship in 2010. KNIFFIN: What are some the difficulties of being a head groundskeeper for a baseball field in Europe? PISCATELLI: The first problem is to me the biggest, because if you have no idea what a field is supposed to not only look like but more importantly play like then it really doesn't matter what tools or equipment you have. There are a lot of reasons for this. Most players or teams here were never taught how to do that or were taught by people who don't have a clue so even if a field is built new or renovated it's still brutal. So players end up playing on terrible fields their whole career and don't know any different and so it goes from generation to generation. American goes solo in maintaining baseball field in Germany E KNOW the extensive amount of time, equipment and money it requires to take a baseball field to the level it should be at. In some places, like Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany, money and equipment is at a premium but accepting a low-quality playing surface just isn't an option. When in Germany you will be hard pressed to find any baseball field let alone a good one. But, in southwest Germany, right along the Rhine, you will find one of the best in Europe. This field is host to the Neuenburg Atomics. They currently play in the second Bundelsliga but over the past 5 years have played two seasons in Germany's highest level, the first Bundesliga. Like most baseball clubs in Germany, Neuenburg has had a history of American influence. That combined with hard work and dedication by many German baseball enthusiasts has made this small town team very successful. The head groundskeeper is Rob Piscatelli who is originally from Poughkeepsie, NY. Rob has been W 18 SportsTurf | December 2012 on baseball fields all around the globe playing and coaching, and of course, maintaining them. Most specialized baseball field equipment is not available in Germany. Importing this equipment is an expensive option for some clubs but not for the Atomics and their limited budget. It is amazing to say that a field of this quality is run on an annual budget of about $3,500. Piscatelli has pieced this field together through hard work and problem solving. The pictures and success of the club show the results. We got a chance to talk with Piscatelli about his fields and how he has found success in a difficult place. KNIFFIN: How many fields do you have in Neuenburg? KNIFFIN: Is it difficult to find the right equipment in Germany? PISCATELLI: This may not be a big deal for baseball clubs that have money after all we live in a global economy and anything you want if you have enough money you can get. But for most baseball clubs in Europe this is not the case and since the tools needed to maintain a baseball field are somewhat specialized, they are very difficult to find so there is a lot of improvising that needs to be done. Just a short story about when I was first looking for a simple hand tamp and couldn't find one. After looking in every store I knew I The guy looked at me as if I just asked him if he could fly me to the moon and then said, "What would you need something like that for?" www.sportsturfonline.com

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