RHS students help fix up old junior high field

RUSSELLVILLE – The old junior high field is getting some new life as Gabe Willis and the students in his Sports Turfgrass Production and Management class along with Russellville Parks and Recreation employees pitch in to revamp and revitalize the field,.

Willis also teaches engineering classes at the high school, along with being the sponsor for robotics and rocketry.

“We want a place for the community to be able to come out and play,” Willis said. “The field hasn’t been in use for years, and we’re just trying to get it back to where it’s usable.”

Donnie Flanagan, Parks and Recreation director, said the field has mostly been bushhogged two or three times a year. The Parks and Recreation Department comes under the umbrella of the school system.

“When we came in, there were trees everywhere, all over the bleachers, and the students helped us with cleanup,” Willis explained. “While there’s still a long way to go, it’s all a part of the process of getting where we want it to be.”

“It’s a great thing for the community,” said RHS senior Gerardo Perez, one of the students working on the project. “It’s exciting. It’s a new field. It’s in downtown, so it makes it convenient for a lot of people.” Willis explained they want the community to know the space is being fixed up so it can be used and enjoyed once more with a vision for a mixed use space for utility sports.

“We’re trying to fix things here so people will be able to play football and soccer games, practice, that kind of thing,” Willis said.

RHS senior Jared Mitchell, another student working on the revitalization efforts, said he’s looking forward to there being another stadium where people can play and watch sports.

“It is just a waste not to use this,” he said. “It’s such a big field.”

“I enjoy having a special project to work on during class and I like that we’re helping the community,” Mitchell added. “It’s an enjoyable challenge and it’s good working on it together.”

Flanagan said the effort is all about creating more opportunities for the community.

“This spring, we are 125plus players in all sports, and we are just running out of a place for people to practice and even play,” he said.

Flanagan said the initial vision is to turn it into a practice field.

“We have some young adults that play sports, and we let them play at Eastside,” he explained, “but we really need Eastside for our baseball and softball program. So, hopefully, we can move them over here, plus, our spring soccer is up 42 players from the fall.”

Flanagan said there’s currently only one soccer field and that it’s located near the old junior high field.

“We don’t have lights at the old junior high field, but we can have beforedark practices. We need new facilities and stuff, but that’s maybe for the future.”

“We’re planning, weather permitting, to paint the field soon and get some lines on it so we can use it for soccer practice in the fall,” Flanagan added.

“We have flag football and tackle football with Parks and Rec, and we’re always battling for a place to practice. Mr. Willis and his class have done a great job working on fixing up the old field.”

Flanagan said he and his crew sometimes show up to help.

“Mr. Willis and his class over the past five years have been very instrumental to the Park and Rec Department and really helped us out with a lot of projects we just didn’t have time to do,” he added.

PHOTO BY MARÍA CAMP – The old scoreboard for the old Russellville junior high football field remains on site but is in poor condition.

Willis said the students were enthusiastic about taking part in the project.

“I asked the students if they wanted to take this on, to get this field back in shape and to get the bleachers where somebody could possibly sit on them,” he explained. “We don’t let them spray the chemicals or do anything dangerous.”

Flanagan said that Bermuda grass on the field was basically “being choked out” by “junk grass.”

“We’ve killed all these junk grasses out, and they’re turning brown now, but there’s a good Bermuda grass under it, and we’re going try to get the field back in tip-top shape, and they’ll get to see that process by May,” Willis said. “The Bermuda grass will have already started growing by then. It’s been here for years.”

Willis said the students will get to see the whole process of how a sports turf field is maintained while also participating in the process of transformation.

“They’re seeing the process of us getting the field back ready like it’s supposed to be, and they’ve enjoyed working on it together,” Willis added.

“There’s still a bunch to clean up, and there’s a lot of leaves that have to get gone,” he continued. “Anything that looks dangerous, we’re going to address it, and there should be pretty grass growing by May.”

Flanagan said some of the spring soccer practices will hopefully take place on the old junior high field, starting “probably mid-March to the first of April.”

He said the field may be used for some things over the summer.

“Our tackle football starts their workouts in the summertime, and they may come here and do some conditioning and stuff like that, but not games yet. Right now, the plan is to utilize the field for a practice area, not to say we won’t play games here in the future.”

Willis said the field is “too big of a spot not to be used.”

“Ever since Donnie took over the Parks and Rec, he’s constantly been enthusiastic to see what can be expanded and otherwise improved,” Willis said. “We want to highlight the fact this field is about to become available for use again.”

He said the site contains nostalgia for a lot of people. Flanagan agreed.

“There’s so many memories here. Even my son, who’s 35, played peewee football here, and I’d love to see him come back by and be impressed by how good it will look,” Flanagan said.

Willis said the project allows students to gain real-life experience working with what they are learning in their class.

“We’ve been cleaning off the steps and pulling the sticks out of the fence and cutting trees down that are in the way and trying to fix the grass,” said junior Noah Fretwell.

“I like knowing that at the end this is going to be a place where people can come and have fun, and I played here when I was younger, so this project is extra special for that reason,” he added.