ASTROTURF SAVES THE DAY AFTER UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE’S FOOTBALL CAMP HAMPERED BY BAD WEATHER

Tennessee Vols Head Coach Derek Dooley and AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples

(JOHNSON CITY, Tennessee) - Last week, the Tennessee Volunteers packed up and moved football camp to tiny Milligan College, just over 100 miles from the Knoxville campus.

The purpose of the move was to bring the team together as they prepare to face competition in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.

''We wanted to do this to limit ourselves from the distractions and simulate what used to be very common as it relates to team chemistry and getting to know each other, building leadership and togetherness,'' coach Derek Dooley said.

The need for developing those bonds did little to hold off the rains last week.  The rains and field conditions at Milligan forced the Vols to move practices to the AstroTurf field at Science Hill High School in Johnson City.

Tennessee is very familiar with AstroTurf, having installed the surface in its indoor practice facility during the 2010 season.  Tennessee is also the home of the Center for Athletic Field Safety, a facility funded by AstroTurf and dedicated to safety research on synthetic and natural grass fields.

Steve Spurrier Field at Science Hill High School

Science Hill also installed the AstroTurf surface in 2010.  Its ability to host play in virtually any weather condition allowed the Vols to continue practice during and after the inclement weather.  The move to the field at Science Hill was part of the contingency plan for the camp.

All AstroTurf GameDay Grass fields have extensive drainage systems in the base work and the turf features 5/16-inch perforations on four-inch centers throughout the field.  These systems are designed to drain over 30 inches per hour. 

Last September, the Chattanooga, Tennessee area experienced over 10 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period, surpassing the record set in 1886.  Schools and businesses were closed as a result of flooding, but the rain did nothing to diminish the playability of AstroTurf fields in the area.  Teams practiced in the rain and hosted games the next day.

Mark Mariakis, head coach at Ridgeland High School, said of the rain, ”I can say that if this happened two years ago when we were still playing on grass, we probably wouldn’t have been able to even host home games for several weeks.”

The ability of AstroTurf systems to handle a variety of weather conditions, as well as its durability and consistency, are reasons why teams like the Vols are able to prepare according to plan, with no interruption.

The only reason the Vols may not have wanted to prepare at Science Hill would have been because it was on Steve Spurrier Field.  Spurrier, head coach at South Carolina and known as the Evil Genius, played at Science Hill.  He also made a generous donation to the school as it was renovating the stadium and adding AstroTurf.

"I think he is a generous man to give back to his high school, so I commend him for what he has done," Dooley said. "It's a tribute to the fact that he was a great player, a great coach, and made a lot of money. When that happens, you get your name on the field."

The University of Tennessee's Indoor Practice Facility

ASTROTURF PLAYS A ROLE AS FALCONS AND TITANS CLASH AT LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL

(DALTON, Georgia) - The Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans squared off in a preseason scrimmage on Monday in the hometown of AstroTurf.

The teams visited Coahulla Creek High School in Varnell, near Dalton, on Monday and drew nearly 8,500 fans for the event.  

From a marketing standpoint, both teams draw fans from the area, which is within easy driving distance of where the teams play their home games in Atlanta and Nashville.  The event also served as a fundraiser for the athletic departments of the three high schools in Whitfield County, which are Coahulla Creek, Northwest Whitfield, and Southeast Whitfield.

“The people in this community have rolled out the red carpet for us,” said Mike Smith, Head Coach of the Falcons.  “In terms of the facilities, it’s just beautiful.  I certainly hope we’ll have the opportunity to come back again.”

Coahulla Creek is a new school and plays on natural grass on a field Titans’ QB Matt Hasselbeck compared to a college field.

While the school does not yet have artificial turf, AstroTurf was able to provide the school with new team boxes, the area on the sideline between the 25-yard-lines.  The team boxes feature a large AstroTurf logo, as a show of support for the program.   AstroTurf installed the sideline panels in time for the scrimmage to help protect and showcase the field and the panels will remain in place permanently for the school.

“Ultimately, our mission is to bring communities together through sports, so we were proud to be a small part of this event,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf.  “Coahulla Creek has a first-class facility and this was a large and important event for the community and for the future of the athletic departments in the Whitfield County school system.”  

The first-time event is one both teams plan to host on an annual basis in and around the Chattanooga area.

Below is a sampling of media links about the event.  The first is the Atlanta Falcons home page, which features several stories and videos from the event.  The second is a photo gallery from the Tennessee Titans with nearly 350 photos from the event.  The final link is a news story from Chattanooga television station WRCB.

http://www.atlantafalcons.com/

http://www.titansonline.com/media-center/photo-gallery/Titans-Falcons-Scrimmage/592d553e-1fd1-4d44-a385-61de4c1ea11f

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/19207011/titans-falcons-holding-open-practice-near-dalton

ERIC BERRY'S ASTROTURF PROJECT STILL PAYING DIVIDENDS GOING INTO THIRD YEAR

(FAIRBURN, Georgia) - As Eric Berry was cementing his name as one of the greatest safeties in the history of college football, the park where he learned the game was facing a crisis.

The city of Fairburn, Georgia, on the outskirts of Atlanta, had just a reached a population of 3,500.  State law required for Fulton County to halt maintenance on the park at that time.  Fairburn residents filled the gap and pitched in to help, but the park continued to decline.

As prospects of a professional career grew brighter, Eric Berry stepped in to help.  In a world where professional athletes increasingly lose sight of the team concept and exist with a sense of entitlement, Eric Berry is one of the good guys.

Eric, before ever playing a down in the NFL, launched the Eric Berry Foundation and committed to build an AstroTurf field at Clarence Duncan Park in Fairburn, a park managed by former University of Tennessee running back James Berry, Eric’s father.

“You won’t meet any finer people than the Berry family,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf.  “This has been one of the most rewarding projects we’ve ever worked on.”

The field was built in 2010, with work commencing just days before Eric departed to don the uniform of the Chiefs.  Now entering its third year, the field at Duncan Park is still making a tremendous impact.

“It’s meant a whole lot to the kids in the area,” said the senior Berry.  “It’s just like a drawing card.”

James Berry says the field is being utilized anytime it’s available and that people come from around the metro are to see it and play on it.  He cites it as a real asset to the community.

Berry also says the field is a source for improved performance among the young athletes in the area and a tool to increase participation.

“Since this field has been installed, we’re getting better practices out of the kids and we’re getting more showing up that want to be there to participate in our program,” said Berry.  “I can see that participation has picked up, so overall, AstroTurf has done us a great favor by installing this field and just working with us in the community.”

Berry said installation of the field put a lot of activity into motion, which will help the Eric Berry Foundation achieve its long-term 6.5-year renovation goal at Duncan Park.  Berry says that because of the installation of the field, “we can actually see the park coming back to life.”

It goes without saying that James Berry has a tremendous amount of pride for his son on and off the field.

“It’s truly a blessing that the opportunity came along and that he really wanted to just give back to the community,” said Berry.  “This was one of the things he did.  We all feel blessed and privileged that he took the opportunity and showed us the love that he did by partnering with AstroTurf and bringing this field to us.”

For Eric Berry, it’s still not enough.  Improving opportunities for young people is a personal mission he carries far beyond Duncan Park.

"I wanted to be different,” said the younger Berry.  “I wanted to be the one who said I would come back after I made it and actually come back and show them. That's always something I wanted to do."

Berry recently completed a series of four youth football camps for kids in Fairburn, Knoxville, Kansas City, and Chattanooga.  The camps drew hundreds of kids and proceeds will go to the Eric Berry Foundation to help with projects similar to Duncan Park in areas like Knoxville and Kansas City.

Berry did football drills and talked with the kids about life lessons he has learned.  He also stayed afterward until every kid or parent got an autograph or a photo.

Molly Haynes, a Tennessee fan from Chattanooga, brought both her sons to the recent camp in Chattanooga.

“I’ve been really impressed that he stayed the entire time,” said Haynes.  “He was out there on the field with them and talking to them.  I think it says a lot about him in that he wants to give back to the community and that the cost was really low for the kids to get to do all this.”

His willingness to give is something he learned from his father.

"I've seen my dad do it. He didn't always have the money to give back but he always gave his time to the younger kids. He's always out in the community teaching them fundamentals and teaching them about life," said Berry.

Not only is the third year of the Duncan Park AstroTurf field approaching, but so is Berry’s third year in the NFL.  If his work ethic and desire to be a part of his community is any indication, Duncan Park, the NFL, and anyone who comes into Berry’s orbit will certainly benefit.

After completing the camp in Chattanooga, Eric returned home to Fairburn that night to visit with family before departing for training camp.

That night he posted a simple message on Twitter.  It said, “Back where it started from.”  Attached to the message was a photo of the AstroTurf field at Duncan Park under the lights.

 CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO

ASTROTURF INSTALLATION UNDERWAY AT MARYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples with Maryville Head Coach George Quarles

 (MARYVILLE, Tennessee) - George Quarles is not a man to shy away from big goals.

In fact, while most high school football coaches set a goal of winning even a single state championship in their career, Quarles starts every season with that goal in mind.

As the head coach of the Maryville Rebels, most would say he’s done pretty well.  This year, he will seek his 10^th state championship title in his 14^th year at the helm of the Tennessee powerhouse.  Quarles’ overall record at the helm is 179-13.

This year, however, will bring a major change.  As Quarles looks out over the football field this morning, crews will be rolling out the all new AstroTurf football field that the team will play on in their quest for another state title.

The change to the new synthetic was born of necessity and a desire to maintain pace with a growing trend.  First among the reasons was use of the field.

“We have an overuse problem,” said Quarles.  “We have, not only the high school using the field, but the middle school teams, our youth league teams, our band practices on it quite a bit, and our PE classes use it.  So, we just have a lot of teams that are using the field and by the end of the season, we don’t have any grass to play on.  We’ve been pretty fortunate that we’ve been playing in November and December, but by then you don’t have grass, just some mud.”

Maryville City Schools Board Member Denny Garner said the amount of use contributed to the deterioration of the field, as well as a drainage problem. 

AstroTurf's Mitchell Truban, Mary City Schools Board Member Denny Garner, AstroTurf's Thomas Mullins, Maryville Head Coach George Quarles

“It was going to cost something like $280,000 to re-drain and put natural grass back on the field,” said Garner.  “Then we started looking at AstroTurf and other products.  We came to the conclusion that we could come out ahead financially by changing to an artificial surface.  We spend about $30,000 a year on our field now for maintenance.  That’s a maintenance fee that will dissolve and go away.  We can put that money back and bank it for re-turfing down the road.”

Quarles also cited other reasons for the change, including aesthetics, a consistent playing surface that’s always available, and development of artificial turf that looks and plays more like natural grass.

Maryville, in the past, has conducted practices at the University of Tennessee’s indoor practice facility, which also has AstroTurf.  That surface caught their attention.  Officials and team members also visited a number of fields during the decision-making process.

“We did a tremendous amount of study and research,” said Garner.  “We decided that AstroTurf was, by far, in our opinion, the best turf product out there at this time.  When you visit a company like this, that pretty much does it all from start to finish, from the build of it to the install, you just feel so much more comfortable with the fact that you’ve seen their manufacturing operations.”

Quarles mentioned a couple of other intangibles in the process.

“We liked the product, for one,” he said.  “But we were really impressed with the people at AstroTurf.  Bryan Peeples, the company president came to our school.  The sales staff and project engineers have been very responsive.  We just developed a good relationship with them.  They were up front with us.  We didn’t hear any negatives about other competitors.  We just heard the good things about AstroTurf.  We appreciated that and we’ve not regretted our decision for a second.”

A contingent of officials from Maryville visited AstroTurf’s manufacturing facilities in Dalton, Georgia two weeks ago and that visit further solidified the decision.

“We learned a lot about the process,” said Quarles.  “What impressed me the most, though, was that during the visit to one of the plants, I watched Bryan Peeples take time to stop and speak to the line employees, calling them by name, and engaging them in conversation.  They truly are a family company and we like that.”

The field will be constructed of AstroTurf GameDay Grass Xtreme 60.  The surface contains the Horseshoe fiber, an Omega-shaped fiber which has better mechanical memory and remains upright longer, has a more grass-like ball roll, and offers the best aesthetics of any field.  It is combined with the AstroTurf XP fiber.  XP is a slit-film product which offers better infill encapsulation, best resistance to wear, and great pile density.  The product also features texturized RootZone.  RootZone is a fiber which acts as a thatch layer, creating minimal rubber splash, uniform energy return, and better shock absorbency, while encapsulating the infill and reducing migration.

The field also has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, one of the highest in the industry.  This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.

The Horseshoe fiber’s shape also allows it to reflect light and heat away from the surface.  That, in combination with AstroFlect heat reduction technology, can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.

“Maryville is one of the nation’s premier football programs and they are getting the finest synthetic playing surface on the market,” said AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples.  “We are excited that AstroTurf will play a role in continuing the winning tradition of the Rebels and Coach Quarles.”

The AstroTurf crew arrived on-site this morning to begin the installation process, which will take about two weeks.