Raise your hand if your fields have an identity crisis.
Oh, come on. You know what I mean. With all the games that take place on an athletic field--soccer, football, lacrosse, field hockey, softball, kickball--fields have many roles to fill, and depending on where you are geographically, they may be in use year-round.
It's no surprise that there is an increased demand for sports facilities--economic setbacks have led many people to drop gym memberships and take advantage of local programs, and more parents have explored sports opportunities provided by parks and rec departments as an economical alternative to high-priced sports camps. In addition, more students than ever are participating in school athletic programs (many of which hold games on local municipal fields), and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Athletics Participation Survey, during the 2009-2010 school year, there were 4,455,740 boys and 3,172,637 girls involved in high-school athletics, for a total of 7,628,377. And that doesn't take into consideration the countless sports and social programs for adults and youth, the Little League, the travel and club teams, the home-school groups and others, in which players lace up their shoes and head out onto the field on a regular basis.
