Field Care Instructions -Updated 3/28/2011
For the Ship Park and Manor Park Fields:
As in past years we will again have the Home Team set up the field and the Visiting Team close the field.
Batting Cages: The batting cages are for the sole use of Exton Little League. These are for batting practice and warm ups only and are not to be left unlocked when not in use. Managers are not to give the combinations to parents or children at any time for any reason. Misuse of these cages can cause serious safety issues for our league. When you are using the batting cages, remove the combination lock and immediately lock it to the fence next to the latch. This will eliminate losing the lock. When you are finished using the cage it must immediately be locked.
Before the Game: Upon arrival for yourpractice/game, remove the field tarps located on the mound and home plate areas and store them in the red stone area of the dugout onthe1st base side along with the weights that go with them.Do not place these items on the grass areas inside the playing surface for any period of time as it poses a safety issue to our players and may cause damage to the grass areas. Please note the position of these tarps (silver side down, brown side up) and weights and return them in the same manner when you are finished. Please, do not drop weights onto the tarps. This can damage the weights and/or tarps.
Foul Lines: Please do not allow players to warm up on the foul lines. This will help eliminate the need to repair/re-levelthem throughout the season. When lining your field for play, all lines are to be marked with the line drop in the 2" position and not in the 4" line position. This will save material throughout the season. Once you have completed marking your field put all equipment (template, line machine, and rakes) back into the utility shed prior to the start of your practice/game, this will protect it should it rain anytime during your practice/game. Please be sure that all shed doors are closed and locked prior to the start of any practice/game. This is a safety concern and must be done. When unlocking the shed or batting cage combination locks, it is very important that you immediately tumble the combination on the lock in order not to jeopardize someone learning the combination. These combinations are for Managers and Coaches only!They are not to be given to parents and children.
After the Game: Upon completion of your field use please be sure to field drag all areas between first and third base. Please be certain that you do not pull the field drag or material into or through the grass edge. First and third base paths along with the home plate area must be raked. Please do not push or pull any infield mix material into the grass edge. Base paths should be raked with the direction of the base path(length wise and not width wise) and not against it. This will help eliminate causing a valley effect to the base path. When raking the mounds you should rake from the grass edges towards the top of the mound and not from the top to the grass edge. We would like to see the coaching staff's handle field closings with respect to dragging and raking and not the children. All dugouts must be cleaned out after each use and all tarps and bricks replaced. All tarps are to be placed silver side down, brown side up. If the team following your game is not present at the completion of your game, it will be your responsibility to place all tarps back onto the field.
Wet Fields: Should your field have standing water (puddles) on it, there are several things that you can do to make it playable. The first and most important thing is that you can not dig a hole to collect the water. With the existing structure of the playing surface we can not dig trenches or holes as this will bring the sub-surface material up and contaminate the infield mix.You may take large towels and try absorbing and ringing out off the field area. Do not broom or move puddles to another areas, this will only make the situation worse. Once you have absorbed any standing water you can then apply a thin layer of Diamond Dry to the area that is still wet. Allow this product several minutes to work before turning it into the playing surface. If after several applications and a light raking your field is still unplayable then you must consider postponing your game as to not jeopardize the integrity of our fields. If you are the first game on a weekend morning and it has rained the night before, it is important that you arrive with plenty of time to see if you can prepare your field for play. This is not the responsibility of the league to have your field ready for play. It would also help if several of the early game staffs come out to help in an effort to prepare fields for play. It is a primary interest of ours to play as many games as possible, but we must consider what playing on a field that day may do to the field for future use.
Field Closures: We must protect our investment in order to provide our young players the safest and most enjoyable little league experience and the leaguewill be counting on all of you to do just that. Should you arrive at your scheduled field time and find a RED FLAG placed on or behind the pitcher's mound, this will be an indication that that field has been closed. NO EXCEPTIONS! Please be sure that you check the league web site before each scheduled practice/game as itis constantlyupdating field situations on a day to day basis and at times hourly.Encourage team parents to check this as well as we have seen times that parents show up at the fields without the Manager being present. If a weekend early game has fields listed as closed, by the time your game is scheduled they may in fact have been re-opened.This may save you and your team a lot of time. If your field has been closed please be sure that you notify your visiting team (i.e. Chester Valley or other travel teams). The league will notify your umpire of your cancellation.
Tee-Ball Field
The tee ball field will have a field drag located on the back stop. Please have a parent volunteer or one of the assistant coaches drag this field after each use. Dragging this surface will help eliminate any weeds or grasses that may try to surface. If weather is an issue and the tee ball field can not be raked over to remove any water, then the field will be deemed unplayable. The Diamond Dry material is only for our red clay fields and must not be applied to the tee ball field. This is an organic material and is not compatible with the Diamond Tex material on the tee ball field. If there is a red flag placed at the pitchers ares of this field then the field is closed. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Exton Station Field
ExtonStation has graciously allowed our league the use of its baseball field again this year. We must take care of this facility as if it was one of our own fields. There will be a rake along with a field drag located on the backstop. Please be sure that this field is properly dragged and raked after each use. If a red flag is placed on or behind the pitchers mound then the field is closed. NO EXCEPTION!
WCASD Field Users
All teams using the West ChesterSchool District Fields must comply to the field conditions report sent out daily by the school district. We will also post school district and West Whiteland fields on the league web site your your convenience, but there may be times when it is necessary for you to look at a field prior to your use of it to see if it is playable.If the fields are green flagged on a Friday and we have weather over the weekend,you must use your best judgement when usinga school district field. If you can not put the field back into the condition it was prior to play then itshould not be used. All Managers are responsible forcarryingwith them at all practice/game times their field permits. If you have anyquestion regarding the use of a school district or township field, contact field operations.