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Expert Sports Facility Advice

Hey Everyone!

My name is Brett Derrig and I am a Facility Specialist with Practice Sports. I have operated an indoor baseball facility for 3 years now and that experience has enabled me to give prospective customers advice on what they should and shouldn’t do on their next facility purchase!

When it comes to turf and netting, I have learned some ins and outs that will benefit you when making decisions on which products to buy. The first thing that you should do is set a budget for the project. This step will help a ton when it comes to knowing what products you are in the market for, as well as help our Facility Specialists put together your quote easier and guide you in the right path.

From there, I think it’s important to make a list determining your needs, and if possible, place them in priority order. There are many facilities we work with that take their large project and break them down into segments throughout the year, and that is something we can easily accommodate!

Once you have your list and budget, it’s time to start shopping!

When determining what type of netting you should go with, the first thing to determine is whether it will be going indoors or outdoors, and if it will experience moisture throughout it’s lifetime.

If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you will need to get Latex Dip Treatment. From there, you will want to determine the gauge of netting you need. If you are planning on this cage being for home use or light to moderate youth level use, then you can get away with #36 Nylon. For commercial use or heavy high school/college use, you will want to choose #60 Nylon. For professional use, you will need #96 Nylon. These examples are to ensure that you get the most life span out of your net!

Turf is one of the first things people “ooh” and “aah” about when they walk into a facility. It’s not a question that kids love good turf, and they love large, open spaces of it! As a facility owner, you must understand that your turf will be one of, if not the most, trafficked areas of your building. The great news is, we have a variety of options at Practice Sports to suit your needs. Whether it’s field turf, high end poly or nylon turf, or used turf; we have you covered!

The needs you have for the turf will point you in the right direction on which way to go. If you have kids that are going to make impact with the turf, such as sliding or contact sports like soccer and football, then you will absolutely want at least 3 mm foam padding. For heavy football and soccer use, you will need 5 mm foam padding to reduce risk for injury on impact. At the end of the day, we want our facilities to be a safe and pleasurable place for athletes to compete and train!

If athletes are going to wear cleats on the turf, it is highly recommended to go with a Nylon material, which are all spike-resistant! Nylon is much more tightly woven than Poly when it comes to turf.

This allows more impact as well as spikes to wear on it without the turf deteriorating. If you have a facility where you don’t allow cleats to be worn, you can go with the Poly option, which is a softer material and less tightly woven than Nylon. Poly is great for baseball and softball players to slide on as well as dive for balls without getting the infamous “rug burn” as easily.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, we also have used turf available and it works exceptionally well for start-up facilities. I vividly remember the time when I made the decision to go with used turf from Practice Sports, and I was very scared about the condition it would arrive in. But when it arrived, I had an overwhelming sense of relief wash over my body as we unrolled the turf. It was in great condition, and saved me a ton of money that I was able to put into other products that enhanced my facility from the onset!

I hope that my firsthand experiences can help you when it comes to making your next facility purchase! Now that I work for Practice Sports, I pride myself in making the right fit for each customer when it comes to their products. If you want me to help design your facility, I’m more than willing to draw something up for your approval. If you have questions that need answered, I check my emails throughout the day, even after business hours, so you can always be assured you are getting a prompt reply.

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