Every day students head out to the sports fields for their practices. Even though they spend a lot of their time out on the field, most are not aware of how much work actually goes into maintaining them. Wilmington Friends School has a large team of maintenance workers whose job is to make sure the fields are in perfect condition for student athletes to practice and play on. From cutting the grass, sodding the field, and aerating and lining the fields, the maintenance workers put in about 40 hours a week of just maintaining the conditions of the fields.

Many WFS students appreciate how much work goes into these fields for a variety of reasons. When asked about the importance of the field conditions, Louisa Spinner ‘18 said, “As a student-athlete, I care a lot about the surface that I play on. It is important that there aren’t many divits in the playing field, as it can cause ankle sprains and other various injuries for the players. Without the maintenance staff, it would be extremely difficult to keep the fields in the great condition they are today. I really appreciate all the work that the maintenance staff does to keep our sports fields safe and looking good.” Most students athletes and coaches would agree. It can be dangerous for the players to be playing on fields with ruts and holes because of the risk of tripping and rolling an ankle. The amount of work that goes into keeping the field safe for the players is larger than most think. One of the maintenance workers, Alan Ramsey, commented on the workload: “We have to mow the field about 3 times a week. Each time it takes about 12 hours to get the all the grass fields mowed. If you add in lining the fields and cutting the grass, that takes about 40 hours of work on the fields per week. We also have to aerate the fields so that they becomes softer which makes the field safer by preventing injuries such as ankle sprains. The hardest field to maintain is the baseball field. We have to wet the field, let it dry, drag it and then re-wet the field before every game. That can sometimes take four hours.” Students appreciate all the hard work that goes into making the fields safe. Not only do the players appreciate the hard work that goes into the fields, the coaches appreciate it too. Scott Clothier, Head Girls Soccer Coach said, “The grounds crew does an amazing job keeping the sports facilities here top notch. Much of their work goes unnoticed but we should all take the time to thank them.” The maintenance workers manage to keep the playing fields in ideal condition on a day to day basis. A member of the WFS baseball team, Dalton Ramsey ‘18, commented, “I really appreciate all the hard work and dedication the maintenance workers put into keeping the fields nice, even though we only use them for roughly 2-3 hours a day.”

The ground maintenance workers put a lot of effort into keeping our fields nice and safe. WFS students and faculty alike thank them for all that they do, and for giving them the ability to play sports on great fields. While the majority of the work is carried out behind the scenes, the results cannot be ignored when admiring the fields. Without the maintenance team, there would not be such well-kept fields. Everyone in the community thanks them for all that they do, and for giving us the ability to play sports on such great fields.