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| 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.
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| 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."
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| The University of Tennessee's Indoor Practice Facility |
