As springtime soccer season rolls around, it’s important that parks, schools, and athletic complexes are taking care of their grass fields. Winter can do some major damage to grass fields, so early springtime maintenance is absolutely imperative. Quality fields make it easier on the users and show off your park, school, or complex to your advantage. Below, we’ll touch on some important tips for how to maintain a grass soccer field in the spring. From ensuring your goals aren’t ruining the grass to the rate you mow during the season, paint your field in the best way possible!

Mow Twice a Week

Mowing is probably the most important thing you can do to properly maintain a grass field. When you let it grow too long or mow it too short, you may damage the grass entirely. For good grass health, no more than one-third of the leaf blade should be removed during mowing. Whatever mowing height used at the beginning of the season should be maintained throughout. Frequent mowing ensures you’re not cutting too much of the grass blades and promotes a dense playing surface—just make sure you remove the clippings after mowing.

Fertilize and Aerate Before the Season Begins

There’s more to maintenance than mowing, however. Fertilizing, aerating, and irrigating are the three other main steps for proper field maintenance. Aerating is important for minimizing surface compaction and improving the water filtration process; this should be done three to four times a year, one of which should be right before the soccer season begins. Once you’ve aerated, you can go through the process of fertilizing and irrigating properly throughout the season.

Quick tip for proper fertilization: use a soil test to figure out how much of the three main nutrients needed by grass are in the soil. The test will show how much nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium are present, and substandard levels indicate need for fertilizer. Irrigate immediately after applying fertilizer.

Overseed Especially Near Goal Mouths

Overseeding is the process of applying seed to an existing field to improve the field’s density and help it recover from frequent use. If your budget allows for overseeding the whole field, then definitely do so. If not, however, focus on high-traffic areas, like near goal mouths. This should be done after aeration.

Pay Attention to Your Goal Choice

Another aspect people often overlook when maintaining fields are the goals themselves. You have to be careful that your goals won’t ruin the grass in and around the field. Especially if you have movable goals that are put on the fields themselves for practice, you have to make sure you’re making smart choices that uphold regulations and don’t damage the field you’ve worked to maintain.

Turn to Discount Playground Supply once your field is up to par for all your outdoor soccer net and goal needs. We have NCAA, FIFA, and NFHS Compliant soccer goals, competition nets, World Cup soccer goal anchors, field markers, junior soccer goal nets, and more. Your park, school, or athletic complex will majorly improve once you partner with us!