Mary Helen Sprecher

Mary Helen Sprecher is ASBA’s technical writer and also the editor of ASBA’s Sports Fields: Construction and Maintenance Manual and Courts & Recreational Surfaces: Construction and Maintenance Manual.

31 Articles

Want Big Results?

Wildly popular at the youth level, soccer and lacrosse are big tournament draws.

This article is for Paid-members only

Sports Fields 5 min read

Field Of Play

It’s easy to host. It’s affordable to maintain. There are plenty of potential players. And it’s hot and growing and can bring a younger demographic into your park.

This article is for Paid-members only

Sports Fields 5 min read

Quidditch And Ultimate

These are not your father’s sports. Or your mom’s, come to think of it, and they’d probably cause extreme confusion for plenty of other generations.

This article is for Paid-members only

Sports Fields 5 min read

Serve It Up!

While beach volleyball was added to the Olympics in 1996, there is plenty of evidence to suggest the sport originated in Hawaii in the early 1900s.

This article is for Paid-members only

Parks 6 min read

For The Love Of The Game

A tennis court (or a pickleball court, for that matter) is so flat. So rectangular. So symmetrical. It’s easy to think of it as a simple venue that doesn’t need much attention.

This article is for Paid-members only

Sports Fields 6 min read

Field Of Study

The old axiom, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” might be appropriate for almost any sports field this time of year.

This article is for Paid-members only

Sports Fields 5 min read

Designing Dog Parks

Dog parks--while nowhere near as ubiquitous as ball fields, picnic tables or tennis courts--are starting to become part of the American park landscape.

Dog Parks 7 min read