Field Day: Maintenance/ crews work just as hard as athletes

When game day rolls around, it is easy to look at the players and take note of the time and effort they’ve put into their sport because they are performing right in front of us. But, many overlook the hard work put into the upkeep of the field itself. If it was not for the behind-the-scene crews that cut the grass, paint the lines and keep the statistics, college athletics would not be the same.

“They have to make sure the PA is working, beef up the press box, got to have an electrician their and they have to have people on site for the unexpected,” said Kent Weiser, director of athletics.

Athletes go to work every day at practice so that they might perform their best when the vital game days approach When they step onto the field, they are playing for their university and fans as much as much as they are for themselves. But the university works just as hard everyday to maintain the fields, and the players as well.

Field maintenance times have dramatically decreased, Weiser said, and as technology progresses, the work does become easier for the staff, with the introduction of turf on the football and baseball fields. Some sports, like soccer and softball, still play on a grass field and require many hours of maintenance.

According to Weiser, the soccer field is in need of improvement. University crews will work throughout the summer to improve it for next season.

“The field is terrible…its weeds and the drainage system is terrible,” said Kayla Wegman, sophomore athletic training major. “Every time is rains, half our field is flooded, and we can’t play. It doesn’t look good to other schools or people visiting the campus.”

But it is not just the field that requires a lot of work. The sports staff, athletic trainers and people that work in the media put many hours before and after the game to make sure the players and the students get everything out of their game day.

Don Weast, director of media relations, is one of the hardest working members of the athletic staff, Weiser said. Weast updates game notes, writes sports releases and runs social media accounts for all university sports.

“It is a rare week in the school year that I will put in less than 50 hours in the office or at events,” Weast said.

“I’ve been to events at a lot of places across the country, and I will say that the game day experience and game administration across the board at Emporia State is some of the best you’ll find,” Weast said. “Emporia State is in the top 30 nationally in attendance in almost every sport out of nearly 300 NCAA Division II schools. That’s, in part, because we’ve been successful, but also because it is fun to come to our games.”

Weast says the focus should still be on the student athletes, and in some cases, the athletes help prepare it. The softball team worked about ten hours before the game drying out the field so they could play, proving that there is more to sports than just competing.