By Doug Strickel
I was recently watching a La Tech softball game with Gerald Jordan from La Tech Athletics. We were discussing the outstanding facilities at La Tech and even broadened that discussion about Ruston in general with the Sports Complex.
As we discussed all the artificial turf playing surfaces in town (and around the country for that matter), it hit me that we have an entire generation of young people that are going to miss valuable life lessons.
Those life lessons:
- The Minden High Dixie Cup and Bucket Process – After a hard rain, a natural grass/dirt field will have standing water. Start the removal process by digging holes and allowing the water to drain into them. One then scoops the water with a dixie cup and pours into a bucket. No more puddles!
- The Oil Dry and Cat Litter Scatter – If the area around home plate is muddy from excessive rain, dump a few bags of oil dry and cat litter. Those two go to work and dry the dirt out. Shovel off the top and get ready to play!
- Fire on the Field – Not my personal favorite, but I have seen it several times. Spread some gasoline along the basepaths and light it up. It’s a great show for young players (standing from a safe distance). While the heat dries up the infield, the show is something else.
- Close Air Support – For the team dad that has a friend with a helicopter, it’s another great show. I have seen it a few times. The helicopter hovers like they are taking heavy fire in a hot LZ, and the moisture is lifted and sprayed elsewhere. Another great show but keep your distance as the water is going somewhere!
- The Dreaded Tarp – Nothing like watching an entire team try to roll out a tarp in a windy thunderstorm. If you’ve never participated in that event, you are missing quite an experience!
With artificial turf, none of those approaches are needed. All are key life lessons that an entire generation will be missing!
It’s not only wet field condition maintenance, but there are more:
- Pre-Game Rock Removal – The process of removing rocks from the infield during pregame warm up. Players loosen up by bending over, picking up rocks, and throwing them off the field.
- Straight-line Chalking – The process of marking the foul lines with chalk/lime. Straight lines are impossible!
- Digging In – You tell your young hitter to dig in and hit the ball. The poor kid can’t dig into the turf. That’s a term that is lost forever.
- Bad Hop – When the hard grounder hits a rock (that you missed in pregame removal) or the surface isn’t level, and the ball takes an unexpected bounce. You take one in the mouth (or worse) and holler “bad hop” hoping they don’t give you an error.
- Preseason/Pregame/Postgame Field Maintenance: The opportunity for overzealous dads to volunteer to lead preseason workdays, and for players to spend the first and last 20 minutes of practice working on the field. Those are great bonding experiences that everyone dreads.
There is no question that artificial turf surfaces have allowed for more games to be played and for increased time of instruction. However, I wonder if we have lost something in the process. Maybe it’s not the things noted above, but there is some level of toughness and work ethic that comes from “old school” struggles.
Oh, and if I were coaching today, I would love to have turf, but there would still be a water hose behind the dugout if someone was thirsty!
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