Know Your Field, After All it's Your Turf

When it comes to player safety, what is your most important piece of equipment? As a coach you’ve been taught to properly fit helmets and shoulder pads, both essential tools that can keep players safe. But what about your field? How safe is it? Without proper care and maintenance, your field can cause severe injury – just like ill-fitting helmets or pads. With overuse – repeating drills in the same place – and misuse – using a field already in poor condition or beyond its limits – football fields become even more dangerous. Because of the brutal nature of the game, when your players step on the field they are already at risk – so why compound the situation by sending them into competition on an unsafe playing surface? In some sports, it is the participants who assume responsibility for the field of play. For example, in golf it is customary to replace your divots. For