Keeping Field of Dreams Pristine

It’s easy to take for granted. The lush green of the outfield grass. The carefully shaped mounds and coppery, smooth surfaces of the infield. Foul-lines and batter boxes—bright and true. Dugouts, fencing and sheds—tidy and safe. Field of Dreams is a pristine and secure home for our Berwyn Paoli Area Little League. The work that goes into keeping it beautiful might surprise you.

True to form, our local grounds crew are volunteers, donating countless hours each week to the care of our park. With seven fields in their charge, mowing is no small activity. “In the warmer months, in-season, Pete’s [Greskoff] down here grooming these infields at 6:00 am,” states his long-time grounds crew partner, Nick Romano. “It’s a labor of love. For all of us. And we do it, all of it, for the kids.”

Pete, Nick and fellow grounds-hound Bill Young have their work cut out for them. Mowing the grass—acres and acres of it—often several times a week during high season. Waging war on weeds and invasive grasses. Maintaining the infields. Attending to the batting-cages. Repairing fences. Trouble-shooting audio systems. Relocating bleachers. Clearing gutters. Even challenging the occasional hornet colony. The list goes on. 

What you can do to help

• Rocks and other objects on the fields are a hazard for players and can damage mowers and injure the crew. Please keep your children from tossing rocks. We understand the draw. But challenge the little ones to skip stones across a local creek instead. Bill claims an all-time best of 14-skips across Crabby Creek. Any takers?
• Treat Field of Dreams as if it were your back-yard—it’s no stretch; this is your town center, your village green. Spot a candy-wrapper on the ground? Pick it up. Spy a player climbing for the dugout roof? Ease him down. Encounter some branches on the bull-pen mound. You get it.
• Volunteer to help. Beyond the regular maintenance of the fields and grounds, help for special projects is always needed. Step up to the plate and get those hands good and dirty with some infield clay. Your soul—and children, one day—will thank you for it. Reach out to our Volunteer Coordinators for more information at [email protected].

Field Care Reminders

• IF DIRT IS TOO WET TO PLAY, SO IS GRASS!
• Please try to avoid concentrated activities on field grass – (i.e. – practice base running on dirt – not grass, hit infield/outfield from dirt, not grass, try not to have kids hitting into nets etc. in one place on the grass - use cages or space outside fences, practice pitching and catching in dirt or in bullpens, not grass).   
• ALWAYS REMEMBER, WE CAN RAKE OUT THE DIRT AND FIX EASILY BUT NOT THE GRASS!
• Special attention should be paid to base paths on grass base path fields.
• There should be at least two hard rakes, two leaf rakes, and a drag mat at each field.
• After every game or practice – use soft rakes to pull any loose dirt off of the infield grass back on the base paths or pitcher mound – particularly around home plate and at first and third base on Haas, Cappelletti, and Robl.  On Toscani – please do along first and third base lines.
• When raking or dragging dirt covered areas– please make sure to keep infield dirt off of grass.  Raking or dragging in direction players run will help.
• Please lift drag mats in middle of dirt base paths, not as leaving the field (helps prevent building lips around first base or getting dirt on to the grass).
• Do not use lime (white powder) on grass surfaces – only use white paint on grass for foul lines.  Painting should be done weekly, this should be sufficient.
• Send an email to [email protected] if any supplies are running short or field needs added attention for scheduled games or tournaments.
• No batting practice pitching on grass – must remain on mound to pitch or use cages.
• Do not use bricks or other foreign objects in batting cages to hold back the nets.
• No metal spikes in any cage.
• Please empty trash cans after games and practice.

Send an email to [email protected] with any questions, issues, or field supply needs.

Thanks to all for your help and consideration.  Our fields are the best in area – let’s work to keep it that way!