Field Maintenance

FIELD PREP INSTRUCTIONS

Electronic Copy – Revision 1 (April 2025)

1. Gather the following equipment from either the seacan or the equipment box:
   • Clean out tool, cones, bases
   • Cones to mark outfield foul lines and outfield boundary (if needed)
   • Orange reel with twine and spike attached & measuring tape
   • Lining machine filled with field whiting
   • Sponsor banner (for games only)
2. If there is no whiting in equipment box or seacan; find it in the whiting shed:
   • Eldon Park shed is located by the washrooms
   • Cleveland Park shed is located by the washrooms (lower field)
   • Chris Zuehlke shed is by the parking lot
   • Sowden shed is by the NW diamond
3. Rake the infield and the area around home plate. Be sure to rake from the edge of the grass towards the dirt to maintain a proper transition between grass and base paths.
4. Rake the pitching mound from the edge of the grass up to the top of the mound. Make sure to fill in all holes and pound it down with the top of the rake. Pitching rubber should be 36 ft. (7U), 42 ft. (9U), 46 ft. (11U), 48 ft. (13U), 54 ft. (15U) and 60.5 ft. (18U) (Major League distance) from home plate.
5. Place all bases with the post in the sleeve with the distance between bases being; 50 ft. (7U), 60 ft. (9U and 11U), 70 ft. (13U), 80 ft. (15U), and 90 ft. (18U) (full-sized diamond). If the bases don’t fit flush to the ground, use the clean out tool to remove excess dirt from the sleeve. Keep all orange inserts together and replace afterwards.
6. Place cones as foul poles for the 1st and 3rd baselines if no poles exist. Foul poles are 150 ft. (7U), 160 ft. (9U), 180 ft. (11U), 200 ft. (13U), 245-270 ft. (15U), and 285-320 ft. (18U) (full-sized diamond), from the back corner of the home plate. Place outfield fence cones in a circular pattern from one foul pole to the other. Use the field whiting machine to create a batter’s box 4 inches from the plate:
   • 7U, 9U, 11U, 13U, and 15U: 6 feet long, and 3 feet wide.
   • 18U: 6 feet long, and 4 feet wide.
7. Take orange reel of twine:
   • Place the spike in the ground at the back corner of home plate.
   • Walk to the grass behind first base, letting the twine roll off the reel, making sure that the twine is on the outside of first base, and continue until you are on the grass.
   • Take the lining machine and follow the twine making sure that the whiting is coming out of the machine, leaving a nice bold line.
   • Once you reach the grass, retrieve the spike and place it in the ground by first base. Then, walk the orange reel to the foul pole and follow the twine with the whiting machine again.
   • Repeat for the foul line along the third base side.
8. Put all equipment back where you found it except for the rakes, as you will need them after practice or game.
9. Hang sponsor banner on the fence.
10. Once your team is finished:
    • Put bases away, making sure to place the orange inserts back into the sleeves.
    • Rake the infield, around home plate and the pitching mound just like you did at the beginning, and return the rakes.
    • Return sponsor banner to storage box.

Coaches and Managers are responsible to ensure that equipment boxes, seacans, dugouts and all applicable gates are locked and no garbage is left behind.

SPECIFIC FIELD DIMENSIONS BY DIVISION

PART 1 – INTRO

PART 2 – TURNING IT ON

PART 3 – DRIVING IT

PART 4 – EMPTYING THE SCREEN

PART 5 – RETURNS TO SEA CAN

PART 1 – HOME PLATE

PART 2 – 3RD BASE

PART 3 – REVIEWING THE LINE

PART 4 – WALKING THE LINE

PART 5 – SUPERSTITION

PART 6 – ADMIRING 3RD BASE LINE

PART 7 – CHECK FOR DIVETS

PART 8 – WHERE TO FIND CHAULK

PART 1 – RAKING ROCKDUST

PART 2 – SWEEPING ROCKDUST

ASSIGN PARENT VOLUNTEERS

DUGOUTS