A Sea of Green

As I drive through Avon, the neighborhoods especially, it's hard to miss the sights and sounds of summer. Kids are playing, people are in their yards, mowers are buzzing and everything is green again. I envy a good lawn; nice thick grass, flowers, everything trimmed and manicured: that brings me joy

But can I confess something? Just between me and you... I hate working in the yard. I've heard it described by some as therapy. And I get it. It's satisfying to plant and tend and grow something from nothing.

For me, the sweat dripping into my eyeballs, the constant weeds, the hard work it takes to keep it looking nice, the mowing once a week? I just don't like it. And I just have one postage stamp-sized yard.

Take a drive by Avon High School and you will be hard pressed to find a dandelion. Jarred Semski and his team including Eric Radican and Bob Mummert take great pride in taking care of the grounds which includes 80 acres and 28 athletic fields. Fall and spring are their busiest times. Fall brings football, soccer, boys' tennis and cross country, in the spring, baseball softball, girls' tennis and track. 

This spring Avon hosted softball sectionals which brought approximately 1300 people each week. The fields are mowed to exactly 1 3/4 inches a minimum of three times a week. From start to finish it takes at least three hours to mow a field and that does not include watering the in-field. Between games they redrag the in-fields, reline the left and right foul lines, respray the pitch circles, batter's boxes and catcher's boxes and rebuild the pitching mound and home plate. In addition, each day will have a different mow pattern on the field.

Semski explains that they want the fields to play like artificial turf. He stays to watch the game to see how the ball bounces, how the players slide to make sure they are playing on the best field possible. He wants people to be excited to play at Avon, not just our students but other schools as well.

Semski says, "safety is number one, but we take pride in what we do for our kids, for Avon."

One of their biggest challenges in keeping the fields ready is the weather. They monitor everything from humidity changes, dew point and of course rain. Semski says his team has a game rate goal of 95% and they sometimes are working until the last minute so they can avoid canceling a game. This year they played every game scheduled and he is proud of that. 

Of course, there would be no fields or games without the students. Semski explains that of the 3500 students at the high school, 1000 of them are athletes. He sees those students as his responsibility to make sure they are playing and excelling on the best fields possible.

Semski loves the little touches that his team does that really make an unforgettable experience for the students. On Senior night this year, they painted baseballs on the field and each one had the number of a senior student. This made for memorable photo ops for the students and their parents. Soon, he will have request for senior pictures on the field and he will make sure he is there to light the score board, add their number in paint and make it as individual as possible. It's these extra little things that sometimes go unnoticed to the public but make it stand out for the students and their parents.

The ground work at Avon High School is year-round. There will be camps and practices all summer long and soon it will be time to prep for fall sports. They even mow during the wintertime to prepare the football field. It is truly remarkable how well the Avon High School grounds team works together and what they accomplish as a team of three.

The next time you are out and about, make sure to take a drive by Avon High School. Admire the sea of green and know there's a team standing tall behind each blade of grass.