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With the growth of the MPC athletics depart department, the need for all-weather and multi-sport playing sur faces has also grown. Seeing the need, individual donors proposed a drastic transition of the lower practice field and the baseball field to tur f sur faces. In 2020, an anonymous donor initiated a ggift ift to prepare the site and place tur f on the llower ower field to primarily be utilized by lacrosse, soccer, and football. Eagle Backers provided funds for fencing and finishing work, resulting in a facility that ser ves multiple teams. Inspired by the refurbished lower field tur f, another anonymous donor generously provided for the tur f baseball field. MPC Baseball Coach Kyle Reese says these improvements are life-changing. “You spend all your time working with the players and coaches. We did not miss one practice due to weather this season,” he shares. “Young players need reps, and you just do not miss reps with the new tur f. When you’re done with practice or a game, you have more time to get to know the student-athletes and mentor without having to do weekly maintenance hours on the playing sur face.” As with other areas across campus, MPC athletics looked to innovate when considering tur f replacement, choosing synthetic tur f from Advanced Sports Group and Shaw Sports Tur f.
BY JOHN SESS, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
The resulting two fields feature more than 214,000 square feet of Legion, Legion Pro, and TruHop Tur f systems. Engineered for per formance and safety, Shaw Sports Tur f features a product line designed specifically to meet the needs of athletes and sports programs. Student-athletes are now playing on the same sur faces as professional athletes like the Baltimore Ravens and the Tampa Bay Rays. When contemplating solutions to set apart MPC baseball facilities from the competition, leadership wanted the ability for our athletes to train on multiple sur faces, knowing that they would play away games on both natural and synthetic tur f. The answer was custombuilt, state-of-the-art bullpens that include both tur f and dirt. This variation prepares players to compete on any sur face, an opportunity that few institutions can provide. Thanks to visionar y donors, these gifts are transformative to our athletics program and for the student-athlete experience. W
YO U N G P L AYE RS NEED R EP S , A ND YO U JU ST DO N OT M I S S R E P S W ITH TH E NEW TU R F. W
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WINGSPAN
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Summer 2021
