Picture Perfect Field First Of Its Kind
June 6, 2011 By
It’s a whole new ballgame now for The Summit Country Day School, located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The school just finished a brand new, first of its kind in the world, baseball field for its student athletes.
“The Motz Group developed our baseball field using the Triple Play HP Synthetic Turf Baseball System this year,” said The Summit Country Day School’s Communications Director Nancy Berlier. “Construction took place over the winter, and the field was ready to play on by April.”The Triple Play HP Synthetic Turf Baseball System offers a completely new environment for players. The turf, specifically made for baseball, offers a “premium, dual-fiber turf, Envirofill acrylic coated sand infill and a shock-absorbing underpad.”
The Summit Country Day School Head Baseball Coach, Triffon Callos, saw the need for an updated infield, and he went to work to help bring about renovation.
“I brought it up to a few stakeholders that we should look into the return of investment going to turf because it’s going to save us in many ways, and we got going with the project with Zach Burns of The Motz Group. We made it work,” said Callos.
This turf, providing material different than traditional rubber, gives many benefits to players.
“Triffon Callos loves it,” said Burns. “He loves the play characteristics, and the consistent ball bounce and smooth ball roll. The update also allows the school to use the field for potential revenue source for rental. It just gives the school so much more utility and space, and opens up a whole new classroom.”
Callos agrees that the new field offers players an optimal playing environment. In addition to the play characteristics, the turf allows for less rainouts and less maintenance.
“Even with the rain this spring, we were able to play more games and practice with this field,” said Callos. “With this weather we had (rain), many teams didn’t get out until their first scrimmage. We had three-four weeks of practice time on our infield that no one else in the city did.”
The new field has brought great publicity to The Summit Country Day School and The Motz Group.
“Both our kids and opposition love playing on it. It’s brought positive attention to our school and our program. We have big name schools in Cincinnati (DI) who contacted us. They know we have a field, and people want to play on a facility like that. It really markets the program,” said Callos.
And The Motz Group has experienced positive feedback as well.
“We have quite a lot of other schools interested in this type of field,” said Burns. “We are in discussion with them now. The system allows for consistent, durable, high performance play.”
The cost for the infield system ranges from $200,000 to $250,000. Prices for an entire field change from project to project. In terms of funding for projects like these at The Summit Country Day School, Berlier says donors associated with the school help make the renovations possible.
“Donors help for a lot of the projects. We have a remarkably generous group of parents devoted to the school and come through with what we need,” said Berlier.
In addition to this “first of its kind” baseball field, The Summit Country Day School showcases three gymnasiums, a comprehensive weight room and spacious outdoor athletic venues.
“It’s special that we have three outdoor fields right by school. A lot of Catholic High Schools are landlocked because they don’t have the kind of space we have,” said Berlier. “We are also replacing five tennis courts this summer to improve drainage and slopes for better runoffs.”
With so much activity surrounding The Summit Country Day School, the baseball field is an example of state-of the-art facilities and a state-of-the-art philosophy throughout the school.
Said Callos: “The Summit is such a special place. It’s a leader in technology in many ways on the academic side of things. It’s such a complete school, and I think this shows that on the athletic side as well. We have the best of both worlds. One day these kids will look back and see how lucky they were to play on an infield like the one we have.”
Photo courtesy of The Motz Group
For more information contact Zach Burns at 513.533.6452
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