Irvington JV Baseball Field Care & Maintenance Manual

Transcription

1 Irvington JV Baseball Field Care & Maintenance Manual D. Martinez 01/01/2009 Version1.0

2 Irvington JV Baseball Program Field Care & Maintenance Manual Table of Contents 1. Introduction Purpose Facility Access & Equipment Storage Permits The Equipment Container Common Equipment Locks and Keys Damages and Indemnification Field Care and Maintenance The Infield Dragging Chain Link Fences Areas Hose and Coupler Rakes / Shovels Conducting Practices & Games Batting Practice Backstop Infield Practice Irrigation Mowing The Outfield General Clean-up Dugouts and Surrounding Areas Trash Cans Pre-Practice & Game Field Preparation Post Practice and Game Care and Maintenance... 9 Field Care & Maintenance Manual ii

3 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this manual is to establish well defined care and maintenance guidelines for the Irvington Junior Varsity baseball facility and to set expectations for anyone using it. Participants include, but are not limited to, Board Members, Managers, Coaches, Parents, Players and other Volunteers participating in normal league activities. The Irvington baseball program s intention is to preserve the field playing condition and to have other organizations take direct ownership and pride in the facilities being used. Continuous care from everyone using the property and field maintenance equipment will help provide and maintain the best possible facility for our current and future athletes. It is expected, each and every time used by another organization, that the field and facility be returned back to the Irvington baseball program in what is called game ready condition. This means that all hot spots are filled, raked level and watered appropriately, that the mound is reconditioned, ranked level, tamped and covered correctly, that the entire infield area is dragged and that the equipment shed is clean and kept in good order. 2. Facility Access & Equipment Storage 2.2 Permits Irvington High School and the school district require approved Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) permits prior to the use of any of the school facilities. This includes all athletic facilities. These use permits must be signed by President or Vice President members of your affiliated organization. Once signed the permits must go through Irvington High School for authorization and signature and then through the FUSD offices for final approval and signature. Permits must be carried by authorized personnel using the facilities at all times and must be presented to Irvington baseball staff, school administration if requested. This ensures the control of traffic while managing overuse concerns and the security of our facility. 2.3 The Equipment Container The 40 foot equipment container is separated in half to support the Fremont American Little League organization (FALL). The left side of the container shall house all of the FALL equipment a baseball gear while the right side of the equipment container supports the Irvington High School Junior Varsity baseball program. Under no circumstances should any FALL team, manager, parents or member use Irvington baseball equipment or gear. 1

4 2.4 Common Equipment The mower, shovels and rakes are common field maintenance equipment that are shared by both organizations that participate in the care and maintenance of the Irvington JV baseball facility. All commonly shared field maintenance equipment shall be managed and maintained by both organizations and replaced by either organization when deemed to be damaged or nonfunctioning. FALL now uses break-away magnetized bases as mandated by the Little League organization. 2.5 Locks and Keys Only upper division managers, coaches and board members who are designated and authorized for JV field use should be provided a key for the equipment container. Under no circumstances should a key be copied and or provided to any other non-authorized person. (I.e. Lower Division Managers, Coaches, Parents or other non-authorized league members) At the conclusion of each season all keys should be collected by the existing FALL board committee member in charge of the upper division using the Irvington JV baseball facility. 3. Damages and Indemnification The program has installed a Zero Tolerance Policy for the neglect, abuse or misuse of any of our athletics facilities or maintenance equipment. Anyone found neglecting or abusing the facilities or equipment will not be permitted to use the facility for the remainder of the existing season. Managers or Coaches conducting practice session or games have the outright ownership of the entire facility and take responsibility to ensure that facilities and related equipment remain in good working condition and in standing order. Anything found broken, damaged or vandalized should be reported to their league and to Irvington baseball immediately to eliminate any misunderstandings involving the ownership of liability. Failure to report will cause Irvington baseball to assess damages against the last manager/coach, team, or organization to use the facility. Taking the position of not fully understanding the guidelines established in this manual, or taking the position of not having enough daylight or time to properly uphold these responsibilities are NOT valid reasons for neglecting your responsibilities while using the Irvington baseball property. Furthermore, any damage to the facility or equipment caused by normal baseball activities, including care and maintenance, must be reported to the program immediately. Failure to do so will cause the damages to be assessed against the last 2

5 organizations team manager(s) to have used the facility based on the practice/game schedule provided by the organizations representative or board directors. Damages will be assessed by both and the authorized organization representative for the total repair or replacement cost. All repairs/replacements will be performed within a reasonable two week period of time per facility and schedule availability unless determined by both parties that post season repair is most timely and appropriate. Irvington baseball understands that some damage can result from normal wear and tear and occasional vandalism/destruction that takes place from time to time. 4. Field Care and Maintenance 4.1 The Infield The entire infield and outer infield apron has been reconditioned and replaced with brand new turf. The edges of the turf and their associated radiuses near each bag are cut to field specifications and should never be modified unless the Irvington baseball program is consulted first. 4.2 Dragging The Craftsman mower can also be used for screen dragging the field in preparation for games and practices. Ensure that the mower deck is fully and completely elevated so that it is not dragging in the infield track fine. This will cause damage and excessive wear and tear. Under no circumstances shall a league player, under aged individual or untrained person drive or operate the mower. Only trained coaches and managers are authorized to operate and prepare the facility prior to practices and games. Stay Away from Grass Edges and chain link fencing! We have experienced a great deal of damage to the turf edges, backstop fence, dugout fencing and metal screen drag due to individuals not paying attention to the screen drag and having it either run over the edges of the turf or getting tangled up in the chain link fence area damaging the fence as well as the screen drag. To avoid damaging the infield edges, chain link fences and the screen drag always drag out the infield area leaving able room in between everything and using the rakes provided to complete the field preparation and maintenance work. Always raking the track fine away perpendicular with 4.3 Chain Link Fences Areas Under no circumstances should Soft Toss hitting drills be conducted against any part of the chain link materials. This includes all areas near around or involving the backstop, side backstop or 3

6 dugout areas. Using the chain link areas as a hitting station will damage the new fabric beyond repair. Always keep screen drag away from Chain Link fence areas to prevent fence and screen drag from being tangled and becoming damaged. 4.4 Hose and Coupler The hose and quick release coupler should be cared for by not allowing the hose to be dragged through the dirt or infield track fine material. The track fine acts like a sand paper and will damage the sprayer end and coupler end and create connection leaks and failures. At the end of each use, the hose should be completely emptied of any water and hung back in the equipment shed at its proper designated area. 4.5 Rakes / Shovels All rakes and shovels are supplied and shared by the Irvington baseball program. This equipment should be taken care of by all parties that use it. The equipment should always be kept clean and in order while being stored in the equipment container. Damaged equipment should fixed by the party in possession of and responsible for the equipment while being used. 5. Conducting Practices & Games 5.1 Batting Practice When conducting batting practice on the field you should never throw from the infield turf area between the mound and home plate without a large protective mat or pitching ramp. Failure to follow these guidelines will certainly cause major damage to the turf area, causing the affected area to both die and then promote weed infestation and growth. Having a large mat or pitching ramp under the throwing area between the mound and home plate will preserve the turf for the entire season. 5.2 Backstop The wooden backstop area should be protected while batting practice is being conducted. This can be accomplished by setting up a pop-up net to collect batting practice ball. You could also have a live catcher during batting practice to ensure that the balls are being collected while the catcher conducts independent drills. The Irvington backstop padding should never be used during practice. This pad is intended to be used for games only and should be properly stored after game use. 4

7 5.3 Infield Practice When conducting infield practice where coaches and managers are hitting fungo ground balls to various positions you need to protect the front turf area just in front of home plate. Many times managers hit sharp ground balls directly into the turf area causing divots and killing the turf that has been struck. You can avoid this damage by either moving further back behind the home plate area allowing balls to strike the dirt area first or by hitting outward toward the mound area thereby eliminating the sharp downward angles that would otherwise strike and damage the turf area just in front of home plate. 5.4 Irrigation The entire irrigation system has been replaced and fitted with hi-end sprinkler heads that provide the best watering coverage for the infield design. The system is on a new central timer system that is managed and controlled by and the FUSD offices. No one outside of Irvington and FUSD offices will be allowed to have access to the central timer system. Anyone using the field should ensure that all heads are retracted and functioning correctly before and after prepping the facility for practices and games. Special attention must be given when dragging and mowing the facility to ensure that no sprinkler head is damaged during the field prep process. All damages and malfunctioning heads must be reported immediately of Irvington baseball will assess the damages be the Zero Tolerance policy as defined above in section 2.4. All irrigation box covers should be inspected to ensure that they are correctly covering each designated valve. This will ensure that vandalism is kept to a minimum and that the surrounding playing area remains safe for all of the athletes. 5.5 Mowing Under no circumstances should any player be allowed to operate the mower for any reason! The Craftsman mower is for mowing the infield and apron turf (New turf on outer rim of infield) only. It is never to be used to mow the outfields or surrounding areas outside of the playing surface. The mower should never be used to mow weeds as this will cause the mower deck to become contaminated and transfer weed germination into the infield and apron turf areas. The ignition key for the mower should never be forced into any on/off position. Twisting the key forcefully will damage the ignition and break off the key causing the mower to become inoperative. The mower takes unleaded gas that should be supplied by your local organization. Under no circumstances should league members be using gas belonging to the Irvington High baseball 5

8 program. Fuel storage should follow district guidelines and be contained in a flammable storage container where applicable. The mover should be cleaned and dusted off after each use and stored properly in the container (Do not put mower away with grass and dirt all over it!) Storage for the mower during the season should be closest to the equipment container doors for easy access. During the off-season months the mower should be stored at the far end of the container to make room for other equipment and supplies. 5.6 The Outfield The entire outfield area has been graded and reconditioned with topsoil and new top seeding. This area will be mowed and maintained by the district grounds office on a regularly scheduled basis. Under no circumstances should the Craftsman infield mower be used to mow the outfield grass areas. This will contaminate the mower and transfer weed pollination into the new infield and apron turf areas. Gophers Mounds found in the outfield area should be raked flat to ensure that no athlete sustains an ankle injury. Gopher abatement and control is being conducted by FUSD ground division. All complaints about the playing condition and surfaces in the outfield area should be sent to Dan Bolger at the FUSD Operations and Grounds Office at (510) , xt or dbolger@mail.fremont.k12.ca.us 6. General Clean-up 6.1 Dugouts and Surrounding Areas Dugouts and the surrounding areas should be kept spotless at all times. It is the responsibility of the attending manager, coach, team and responsible parents when attending league events or games to police the entire area and to ensure that the baseball facility remains clean at all times. Manager/Coaches own the overall responsibility to ensure that the baseball playing area is free of debris by having the entire team police the area after each practice or game. Dugouts need to be swept and completely cleaned out after each game. 6.1 Trash Cans All trash cans/bags should be emptied at the end of each week (Friday) or after each game on a regular basis or when they are obviously overflowing with trash. 6. Pre-Practice & Game Field Preparation Under no circumstances should any player or person under the legal age of driving be operating the tractor! 6

9 1. Place bases on the edge of the grass infield to help prevent the screen drag from going onto the edges of the grass turf. (I.e. First, Second and Third). 2. Ensure that base plugs have been placed on the receivers before raking or dragging. 3. Rake in ALL Hot-Spot areas: a. In front of each base b. Batter s boxes c. Catcher s area d. On-Deck Areas e. Pitching Mound 4. Spray ALL Hot-Spot areas liberally with water (Soak, but don t make puddle) to help compress the dirt, eliminate holes and maintain playability throughout season 5. Spray ALL other infield track fine surfaces liberally with water until the soil appears to retain moisture. Note: A quick light spray will quickly dry out and create more dust during dragging and play. 6. DO NOT drag the metal screen drag over the edges of the grass as it will cover the turf with dirt, tear up the turf and kill the grass edges of the infields 7. DO NOT get to close to the chain link fence areas as the metal screen drag will get caught, tangle and become damaged. 8. DO NOT drag track fine infield mix off of playing surface. This means; a. Stopping the screen drag inside of the first base foul line and shaking the dirt off of it b. Rolling the screen up from there and carrying it off of the playing surface and storing it properly in the shed c. Rake the rocks out of the pile and distribute to low areas around 1 st base Note: Dragging the screen off of the field playing area removes a tremendous amount of infield material that is very expensive 9. Set bases inside of posts 10. Use batter s box template to square up batter s box and lay down chalk lines, Short side of box always points towards pitchers mound. 7

10 11. Use snap-line to set-foul lines by first setting line at rear point of home plate and then by having snap-line touch the outside part of 1 st and 3 rd base, making certain that the lines run into the outfield 12. Here is the best order to chalk efficiently and save you time and effort: 13. Coaching boxes and 1 st & 3 rd should never be needed for this level of play, unless required for playoffs or championship games. If coaching areas are required follow the diagram below for proper location and dimensions. Note: The edge of the coach s box should line up with the edge of the bag. (See dotted line blow) and should only have three lines. DO NOT use excessive chalk as this will create build up and make the surface hard. 4 ft. 8 ft. 4 ft. 1 St Base Foul Line 14. Properly store all of the materials in their proper place. DO NOT make messes for others to find or clean-up! 15. Ensure that the chalk piles in the shed and on the field are cleaned and removed 8

11 7. Post Practice and Game Care and Maintenance Before you leave the fields, please ensure that you have left the facilities in good condition. Under no circumstances should any player or person under the legal age of driving be operating the tractor! 1. Pick-up the trash in the dugouts and surrounding areas 2. Sweep dugout areas clean 3. Empty trash cans or bags 4. Rake in ALL Hot-Spots and soak out (Do not make puddles or mud) a. Sliding areas b. Batter s Box c. Catcher s area d. Pitcher s mound 5. Rake edges of grass infields with soft plastic rake lightly if dirt is covering turf 6. Spray infield turf edges lightly to help remove dirt and rocks and prevent lip build-up. 7. Spray infield Grass areas moderately. Give the grass a good drink of water on those hot days. 8. Ensure that the hose is empty and not filled with water 9. Ensure that the rakes, shovels and other equipment is clean and not covered with dirt and or mud and that everything is put in its proper place 10. Ensure that facilities are all locked up: a. Equipment Boxes b. All Gates applicable c. Restrooms 11. Ensure that the tractor is clean, gassed up and stored properly, with key in OFF position 12. Ensure that the chalk piles in the shed and on the field are cleaned and removed 9