Practice areas and game fields. 

Since last summer, SASA and the county’s Parks and Recreation department have actively pursued ideas to see how we can better structure our program to produce less wear and tear on the fields.  As parents, coaches, and volunteers we must remember that all the fields in the county are maintained by the county.  The elementary and middle school fields are also maintained by the county staff.  We have to help keep these fields in good shape so the kids can continue to play on them.  This is why SASA, in partnership with the county, are looking at changing the way we schedule our practices. The underlying principle is as follows:

If we don’t change we will lose our fields or have unsafe playing areas.

As one solution, we are looking to have practice areas for teams to train on.  These practice areas will be marked out in 20x30 yard rectangles.  Our focus is to get the coaches and the players to concentrate on fundamental development while at the same time saving some of the fields for use in the games.

In the past, teams were allotted one half of a field and the teams predomominantly  ’played’ around the goal areas.  This has worn the goal areas out to a point where no grass grows.  Our plan is to have practice areas while also having GAME SPECIFIC FIELDS.

With game specific fields it should eliminate all the ’wear and tear’ that practicing every night puts on the field. We are looking to have good fields to play games on. The county believes that with the practice areas there should be enough room to move them around so the fields do not get torn up.

We as an organization require everyone’s help in this matter.  SASA will put a schedule together.  This schedule goes to the county.  They will know what team should be on the field or what game is taking place.  Teams can no longer go and play on any field.  County staff will be walking the fields and making sure nobody plays on the game specific fields.  If the county or a SASA representative sees a coach/team practicing on a game field, they will receive one written warning.  If they are uncooperative again their team will drop a game from the schedule.

Remember we are doing this in the best interest of the kids to produce better and safer fields for them.  We do not want to take games away from players but we have to ensure the fields are safe.

As Technical Director, I believe it is important that players continue to develop.  The older age groups also need to focus on the tactical aspects of the game.  Therefore, older (U14 and above) teams will have one technical session on the practice fields and one tactical session on half a large field.  There will be only 2 large fields in the county that are designed to hold older team technical sessions.

In summary

What our agreement with the county offers:

        Game specific fields

        Practice specific areas

        A designated area for all teams to practice

        No teams losing practice time because a game is taking place at the same field

It is required that:

        Coaches follow the SASA practice schedule

        Coaches educate parents and let them know why this is necessary

        U6 through U12 teams will train exclusively in practice areas

        U14 and older teams will have one weekly training session on a practice area (technical) and one session on half a field (tactical)

We hope to accomplish the following:

        Improve the condition of the fields

        Have game specific fields which will host games only

        Have practice areas where teams can train

        Focus on the fundamentals of soccer

       

Part 2

Smith Lake fields

Last season, a big push in the SASA community was to get the county and the board of supervisors to help improve the fields in the Stafford area.  Thanks to SASA members rallying outside the courthouse and to many subsequent meetings, the Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to allocate $1.8 million toward the construction of two artificial turf fields in Smith Lake Park.

(Smith Lake was chosen because the ground is so acidic it cannot grow grass. Tens of thousands of dollars each year will have to be put into the field to get the acidity of the soil to a level where they can grow grass. This will also take several years to complete. They would also have to put thousands of dollars in to seed and fertilizer to keep the grass growing)

Many discussions have taken place since the vote in the past several months about when and how these fields will be put in. The process of the site work takes about 6 weeks to 3 months. A delay in the process has occurred because all the plans have to go through Virginia procurement law, which requires that the process be put to bid. This is significantly changing the timeline for completion of the fields. Another delaying factor in this process is the full specifics of the task.  SASA approached 2 artificial turf companies to gather bids for the county.  The county is still putting all the specifics of the task together, even though this could have been started when the vote was put up for discussion.

Specifics for this task are changing because the county is looking to do some extra work to improve existing conditions of the area surrounding the fields. They want to make sure that water run off will be adequate to stop any standing water on the turf they put in. This involves moving soil around to get the right grades. However with the soil not being a good standard they will have to look at bring soil in from other locations and so bringing up costs and extending the time for completion.

At December’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the proposed date for completion was announced as spring 2009.  SASA is hoping that this date is brought forward so our players will have a new, safe and exciting place to play.

Barry Hill
Technical Director
Stafford Area Soccer Assoc.