Field Day Volunteers Prep for Baseball Season

Saturday, Collingswood Little League's annual Field Day had one of its best turnouts yet—around 30 volunteers showed up to help prep the field for opening day.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., the group—comprising Collingswood Little League Board of Directors members, league coaches, managers and a few young players—gathered in the The Knight Park to ready their home fields.

Volunteers spent the afternoon picking up trash, clearing fallen leaves, hanging a huge tarp behind home plate and draining rain water out of the underground dugouts.

And the annual cleanup effort is as much a part of the game as playing baseball is, according to Little League Board of Directors President Michael Reynolds.

"When we host district tournaments here (at Collingswood's home field), other teams in the area play on our turf," said Reynolds. "And during the tournaments, we are representing Collingswood to outside towns. And if our field is mediocre, they assume our league is mediocre, that Collingswood is mediocre."

On Saturday, volunteers conducted a leaf cleanup that spanned the entire complex, and arranged trash cans and waste disposal units around the park. 

Little League Board Secretary Rich Batezel said leaf disposal was the day's most time-consuming task.

"The leaves always take the longest. Because when you look around this park, and see how many trees are here, you realize how big a project you're about to take-on," said Batezel, adding that recent high winds caused leaves to scatter even further than in past years.

But thanks to a surprisingly large Field Day volunteer base, this year's leaf cleanup had more helping hands to get the job done.

"We absolutely had more people volunteer this year than usual. Because of the extra help, Saturday was successful," said Batezel.

And while the hardest part is over, the league's board president admitted fields aren't 100 percent ready for Collingswood Little League's April 2 season opener.

"Today (Saturday's Field Day) was just about general maintenance, polishing the park's appearance," said Reynolds. "The field itself still needs to be fixed up."

And various aspects of the field still need to be addressed. According to Reynolds, the actual field is uneven from wear-and-tear and other elements. The diamond-shaped dirt path—leading from home plate to first base, to second, to third and back to home—dips lower than the surrounding grass. 

"When these kids hit that ball and start running to base, we don't want any accidents to happen. Running on uneven ground, you're going to twist your foot, and it's extremely easy to break your ankle," said Reynolds. 

But with regard to uneven ground, Reynolds became most agitated when talking about the pitcher's mound. 

"This pitcher's mound, you know, I really can't even stand to look at it," said Reynolds, hesitating a moment before continuing his walk to the mound. "Bottom line, it just needs to be fixed. No pitcher's mound should look like this."

Instead of rising above the surrounding field, the mound dips into the dirt. The area around it is littered with crooks, dips and cavities.

"The kids love stamping and grinding their feet in the dirt when they're on the mound—and they should be able to," he said. "But see all those ditches around it? That's what shouldn't be happening. This field should be more durable."

Another item on the must-fix-before-season-opener list? Dugout roofing.

"We're one of the only towns to still have underground dugouts," said Reynolds. "But the roofing is coming apart, it's lifting off the frame. And since the roofs are so close to ground-level, kids watching the game tend to climb them and sit on top. It's just dangerous, the fact that these roofs are falling apart."

But Reynolds promises all remaining items on the fix-it list will be ready by opening day, on Saturday, April 2.

"Smoothing and evening the field is being done on Tuesday (March 29), and roof work will be done this week, too," he said. "By opening day, it's going to look like a completely different field. These kids deserve it."

Roof and field repairs will be done professionally, since no volunteers possess specialized skills or training needed to properly remedy the problems. 

According to league officials, professionals they've enlisted in the past often offer to help cut costs. Many times, workers have volunteered time and labor free of cost, requesting only that the league purchase materials for the job.

But it's the die-hard volunteers—like those accountable for the overwhelming show of league support at Field Day on Saturday—who've made Collingswood Little League such a quality organization.

And as opening day crowds begin filtering into the park at 8 a.m. April 2—a day that also marks Collingswood Little League's 60th season in existence—one thing will radiate more clearly than anything else.

The superior reputation inside of Collingswood Little League—which members have worked to build since 1951—will finally be visible on the outside, as well.