Coaches at all levels from youth league thru secondary school make one critical mistake annually that can cost their players valuable learning moment. So, you know what that particular mistake is? That one mistake seriously isn’t having a year rounded baseball field maintenance approach.
In the past 30 years my teams have competed in any respect types of playing facilities also it amazes me at how often small maintenance items within the baseball field are abandoned. At the youth league levels its a whole lot worse. Recrecreation departments often hurry to take care of mutliple fields and a lot of the hired help (even supervisors) do not have a clue about how to manage a baseball field.
The baseball field maintenance plan is straightforward, but takes some time and energy to construct. If done properly it’s going to be a twelve month plan that has everything from mowing the grasss, watering the field, and maintaing proper pile and homeplate condition, and more. Holes in the pitching pile or at homeplate may not occur if a year long maintenance plan was constantly in place.
Spending just a couple of minutes each day on the little details can save you hours of work later and it could be the difference in a new player fielding the ground soccer ball with proper technique or raising up as they are afraid of a bad hop as a result of neglected infield edges (lips, yikes… I hate them, 10 minutes and the water hose or field broom every day will eliminate them).
The rulebook says a mound ought to be 10 inches in elevation and sloped 1 inch for every foot over six feet for just a gradule slople towards homeplate. But I see mountain mounds that are dangerous and promote problems for players due to the wrong type of construction and maintenance.
Field maintenance plans can also include aid from players and parents in order to maintain the complex and take pride within the feild. Start your maintenance plan today and also have your field be the envy of all your opponents
Coach Posey has been a high school coach for 29 years and is the creator of the popular Expert Baseball Tips website,
which has many more top tips for perfect baseball field maintenance