Temperatures were low for the first week of spring practices. But Raegan Bechard didn’t care. And neither did her Cony girls lacrosse teammates.
“This is the earliest we’ve ever been outside. First day of practice, we’re outside,” said Bechard, a senior attacker. “We’re freezing, but we’re just so happy to be out here. It’s an unreal feeling.”
The Rams were able to hold their first practices outside thanks to the turf surface at Fuller Field, which after being installed last fall will provide its first full season of service to Cony’s boys and girls lacrosse teams and track and field teams. Meanwhile, over in Gardiner, the area’s other brand-new turf layout is making its full debut at Hoch Field, and is allowing the Tigers’ teams to also get a head start on spring.
The fields have been a boost already. The hope at the schools is that they will provide an even bigger one as the season goes on, both logistically and competitively.
“Starting with the first day of conditioning for baseball and softball, they were outside, and that’s never happened,” Gardiner athletic director Nate Stubbert said. “It’s a great tool to have. Hopefully our teams will reap the benefits later in the season because we were able to get outside so early.”
“The rain has had no impact on the field’s playability at all, so we’re going to be able to play on days when we have torrential rain,” Cony athletic director Jon Millett said. “There’s no water on the field at all, and we don’t have to worry about damaging it. It’s amazing. Lacrosse, we’re probably not going to have any reschedules if we’re playing at home. So that’s a tremendous impact going forward.”
The fields could have an impact on other teams as the season progresses. Rainy weather tends to linger into the middle of the spring, often forcing teams with waterlogged grass fields to look for turf facilities where they they can move their games. Messalonskee, Lewiston and Kents Hill have often been the options in the central Maine area; now in Augusta and Gardiner, there are two more potential solutions.
“That’s definitely a possibility, for sure,” Stubbert said. “We give priority to our school teams first, and it is a busy spring … but we certainly are available to rent the field space out to other organizations.”
Gardiner baseball players sprint across the school’s new athletic field on the first day of practice March 21 in Gardiner. “I am absolutely delighted we can practice outside on the first day,” baseball coach Charlie Lawrence. “The field is perfect for all of us.” Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal
The fields started providing a service before the season even began. Turnout for lacrosse was up this year at both schools as returning and new players alike were drawn by the new facilities.
“This is one of the best recruiting tools I’ve had in a long time,” Gardiner boys lacrosse coach K.C. Johnson said. “It’s kind of cool. I’ve always complained that there was a little apathy in the schools, kids just didn’t want to play sports anymore. They were burnt out. I think we’re turning the corner.”
Cony boys lacrosse coach Kyle Gleason noticed the same trend.
“We even had new kids come out this year, just because we had a turf field,” he said. “It’s a great surface. Everyone’s excited to use it.”
Teams that in previous years were lining up for gym space and then limited by what they could do indoors have now been able to get a full jump on spring. Cony’s boys and girls lacrosse teams and track teams spent the entire week outside. Gardiner’s lacrosse teams did as well, while baseball and softball, their fields not yet ready for play, also got to get on the field for some of their practices.
Cony track and field assistant coach B.L. Lippert talks to members of team during a cool down stretching session at the end of a March 31 practice in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“It’s a huge advantage. We’re able to take ground balls and it does act like being outside on the dirt,” said Gardiner softball coach Ryan Gero, whose team was on the field Monday through Thursday. “You can do an entire field on that turf field if you put it from a corner out across. It takes up about three-quarters of that field. We could play a game on it if we had to.”
For the teams that will be playing their games on it, having the field has allowed them to begin the season with practices they might not have been able to try for weeks in previous years.
“Given the amount of turf fields that are now in the conference and the opponents that have them, we were always at a disadvantage not stepping on a lined field at home until after April vacation,” Cony girls lacrosse coach Gretchen Livingston said. “We’d be tripping on cones (indoors), so this was just amazing to be running a nice 7 vs. 7 set already.
“I have my Week 1 practice plan files on my Google Drive. I’m looking at them like ‘Nope, get rid of that. Let’s put this in.'”
Johnson said being outside allows concepts he’s teaching, which he can then demonstrate on the field, to sink in better.
“Right away, we’ve got the spacing down,” he said. “We can talk about these things, and the kids are taking it all in, and they’re learning and they get to see it right away. We can talk about it in a gym and it just doesn’t size up.”
The fields have translated to a fast start, and now the hope is that the fast start will translate into a strong season.
“I’m sure that that gives them a step up,” Millett said. “Playing on turf speeds the game up, so when you go to grass it actually helps you. That’s a big advantage. The balls move much faster on the turf, you’ve got to learn how to play quick.”
“I’m hoping that the side effect of having this field is that it’s going to improve our teams, because kids are doing work on their own,” Stubbert said. “That’s the hope, that we’re outside earlier than the teams that we’re playing and that gives us an advantage.”
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