Former Students Win Field of the Year!

Staff (left to right) Braeden Gwalchmai, Brian Cafferty, Matthew Sarault, and Head Groundskeeper Guy Vaillancourt receive CAN AM Field of the Year 2018 from league commissioner, Miles Wolff. Photo courtesy of Marc LaFleur.

Guy Vaillancourt and Matthew Sarault both completed the Baseball Field Management certificate course in later summer 2018. And they just won a major award!

The self-paced online certificate course covers topics like field layout, infield skins and pitcher’s mounds, turfgrass maintenance, and pest management. Perfect for groundskeepers, baseball coaches and anybody else interested in baseball or softball field maintenance, the lecture material is offered as audio slideshows and instructional videos. The course material is assessed by students completing quizzes and games.

Another thing Guy and Matthew have in common is that they’re also groundskeepers at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park, Ottawa, Canada, home to the Champions Baseball Club. Guy, the head groundskeeper, has guided his staff to CAN AM Field of the Year awards in 2015, 2016 and 2018.  See OTTAWA’S RCGT PARK NAMED PLAYING FIELD OF THE YEAR.

Continue reading

Calcined Clay

Calcined clay is a popular soil amendment used on baseball infields for water management and soil conditioning. Clay is heated at a high temperature, about 1500 degrees Fahrenheit to expand the clay forming calcined clay. On baseball fields calcined clay is used to fill in infield depressions caused by cleats and smooth the surface to provide a true baseball bounce, which contributes to the safety of the field. Calcined clay absorbs water that can help dry a field after a rainstorm, and firm the surface. Continue reading

About Me: Amanda Folck

Hello Everyone!
IMG_0212My name is Amanda Folck. I recently graduated from Clark State Community College in May 2015 with a Associate of Science Degree in Transfer Science and currently a Senior at The Ohio State University in Turfgrass Science. My background of work includes working at Folck Family Farm in
Mechanicsburg, Ohio with my family for about 10 years from taking care of the strawberries and the grounds of the farm to showing our award-winning show pigs. I have Continue reading