Indiana State University Athletics

I spent a portion of my Tuesday morning in Terre Haute, IN.  I made site visits to three facilities of the Indiana State Athletics Department.  Here is a review of my visit:

Baseball:

The infield is FieldTurf while the outfield consists on bluegrass sod that was installed in December of 2011.

Softball:

The infield was amended with Dura Edge Pro in 2010.  The outfield is a blend of cool season grasses.

Football/Soccer:

My final stop was at the football/soccer complex.  There is a bermuda grass practice as well as a FieldTurf surface at the complex.

Lastly, I had a brief tour of the new $2.5 million locker room complex for the football and soccer programs.  Here are a couple of photos:

Old football locker room:

New football locker room:

One of many coaches offices:

Needless to say, ISU has invested in their athletics in the last 5 years.  There has also been success on the field.

Thanks to Dan O'Brien and his crew for the visit.  Click HERE to learn more about Indiana State Athletics.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

DePauw University - Bermuda After 28 Days of Play

I made a quick trip to west-central Indiana today.  Look for posts this week from Indiana State as well as Rose Hulman.  First stop and post is an update from DePauw.  There are two warm season fields at DePauw.  The first set of photos is from the new soccer field.  This field was seeded with Riviera Bermuda grass on May 15 of this year.  Cutting height 1/2 inch.  So far, the field has seen 23 straight days of play:

The shear tester is reading 15 ft. lbs. before the field tears.  This is similar to a well maintained bluegrass field.

Next stop was up the hill to the 1 year old Patriot Bermuda grass field hockey field.  Cutting height 1/2 in.  So far, this field has seen three straight weeks of women's field hockey practice:

The shear tester is reading 30 ft. lbs. before the field tears.  This is similar to a well maintained Bermuda fields in the Midwest.  Not surprisingly, a one year old field is much stronger than a 3 month old field.  

Look for more updates as the season continues.  

Click HERE to learn more about DePauw Athletics

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

Now is the Time to Overseed Athletic Fields

Barenbrug seed delivered today, ready to be planted this afternoon:

Slice seeder:

Late summer/early fall is quickly approaching.  Now is the time to overseed athletic fields.  Here is a link for overseeding soccer fields from Purdue University.  Focus on pages 11-12.

Overseeding can be accomplished after aerification and before topdressing and dragging of the cores or with an overseeder.

I like to follow a simple overseeding formula:

• Core aerify
• Overseed
• Topdress
• Drag the cores, sand and seed into the field
• Apply a starter fertilizer 16.28.12 at a rate of 4 bags an acre

Also, don't hesitate to overseed at a higher rate in season.  Remember, seed is one of the most cost effective ways to keep fields looking good and coaches happy throughout the season.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!

--Jamie

@JamieMehringer

Arizona Diamondbacks - Doubleheader in a Retractable Roof Stadium - What Happened

Typically doubleheaders are due to a rainout.  Not so much in the Valley of the Sun thins afternoon.  Why did the Miami Marlins and the DBacks play 2?  Click HERE to find the answer.  Now that is something you don't see everyday.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Indianapolis Colts - Training Camp Complete

The Indianapolis Colts wrapped up training camp last Friday.  I stopped by today to take a look at the post-camp fields.  Here are a few photos:

The fields performed very well.  After a quick sweeping, the fields would be ready for another practice.  As shown above, the fields are now turned into soccer practice fields for the Anderson Ravens.

Click HERE to see the post before camp started as well as earlier posts from this year as the field went from dormant turf through camp.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Bermuda Grass at St Luke - Let the Games Begin

The field renovation at St Luke has been covered here extensively this summer.  I stopped by the field on Wednesday.  First day of school, first day of practice.  The field was ready for play:

Notice the white 36 inch wide strip of crushed limestone around the perimeter of the Patriot bermudagrass.  There are a number of homes along the northern edge of the field.  With the spread rate of Patriot stolons, this strip will provide a buffer area to edge against.  Here's to a good season for the St Luke Rams.

Below are previous links of the project, from the prep work, to sodding, to the grow-in:
http://janddturf.blogspot.com/2012/05/patriot-bermuda-grass-at-st-luke-in.html
http://janddturf.blogspot.com/2012/06/st-luke-catholic-church-patriot-bermuda.html
http://janddturf.blogspot.com/2012/06/st-luke-catholic-church-patriot-bermuda_16.html
http://janddturf.blogspot.com/2012/07/bermuda-grass-update-from-st-luke-and.html
http://janddturf.blogspot.com/2012/07/st-luke-catholic-church-patriot.html

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Seeded Riviera Bermuda Grass Update from Brebeuf

I stopped by the football practice field at Brebeuf on Sat.  I wanted to share a number of photos of the surface.  The surface has been used by the football teams for early season workouts.  Overall the field is in great shape:

The field is still at 100% cover.  The yellow colored debris on the surface is thatch and stolons that are worked up during play.  For a practice field, this is no big deal.  If this was a game field, a simple lawn sweeper would be run across the surface after each event to gather up the material to maintain a cleaner surface.  I will be posting additional updates as the season moves along.

To see the earlier posts on this project, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

London Olympic Stadium

The Olympics will wrap up this weekend.  I was catching up on the track and field events and noticed the unique features of the stadium.  

Here is an article explaining the construction and how the stadium can be reduced for 80,000 to 25,000 capacity after the games.

Next is an article on the sod for the stadium.  Click HERE for the story from the Daily Mail.

Here's to a successful completion of the games.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Butler Baseball - A Nice Net/Brick Wall Backstop

I stopped by Butler University a couple of days ago.  I was struck by how nice the new net and wall backstop is at Butler University.   Here are a couple of photos:

If you are looking for a new backstop design this fall, please let me know.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie

Cincinnati Reds - Great American Ballpark

My travels this past week took me to Cincinnati, OH.  While in town, I attended the Reds v. Padres game.  Here are a few photos of GABP:

The concourses:

A few shots from the outfield concourse:

A photo of the unique light towers:

A number of photos of the ballpark:

Bottom line, GABP opened in 2003 and is one of the better baseball facilities in the league.  The Reds are in first place in the National League Central.  If you have a free day later this summer, a visit to GABP would be a great idea.

To learn more about Great American Ballpark, click HERE.

To see posts from visit to "The Trop" and Wrigley Field, click HERE and HERE.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer

Cheviot Baseball Field - Procter and Gamble - Reds Community Fund - Renovated

This past week the J&D Turf team was in Cheviot, OH.  The task was to work with the City of Cheviot, Procter and Gamble, and the Reds Community Fund to renovate three fields in Cheviot.

On August 2 this past week, over 400 P&G employees worked on numerous tasks to renovate and improve the property.  To learn more about the project, click HERE to see an article and video from Local 12 WKRC-TV.

There were 125 employees working on the three fields.  Needless to say, I was managing the largest grounds crew around for the day.  Here are some photos of the project:

The Opening Ceremony took place at 3:30:

A final photo showing the project partners:

The day was great.  The P&G employees worked extremely hard to complete the project.

Go to j-dturf.com to learn more about J&D Turf.

Play on!
--Jamie
@JamieMehringer