Andale, Garden Plain keep it real with their football fields

Each day during the football season, Michael Dahr walks up and down the football fields at Andale and Garden Plain high schools. Dahr, the head groundskeeper for the Renwick school district, intently searches for bare spots, weeds and any problem areas on the thick, green grass fields.

Dahr’s profession is a rarity in the Wichita area. Andale is one of two schools in the 26-school AV-CTL still with natural grass.

First-year Garden Plain coach Ken Dusenbury was instantly enamored when he saw the excellent condition of the Owls’ field.

“I don’t know when I’ve seen a nicer grass field,” said Dusenbury. “It just really stood out how nice it was. And every official that comes, when they get ready for the game, the first thing they say is how nice the field is.”

The Wichita school district’s three football fields are artificial turf. Bishop Carroll also has artificial turf, while Kapaun Mount Carmel plays on Cessna Stadium’s grass field.

Three of the Central Plains’ 10 schools have artificial turf, including Cheney, which changed its field this fall. Five Central Kansas League schools have artificial turf.

Keeping the fields intact and perfect for football is a science, and one that Dahr is passionate about.

“I started mowing lawns when I was 14, and even back then I got a feeling of satisfaction when I finished the job and you look back and it looks good and it’s all cut and it looks clean,” said Dahr, 42.

The Andale and Garden Plain football fields not only look beautiful, they’re durable because of the time and attention paid to them.

“With a field like this, I wouldn’t push for (artificial) turf,” Andale coach Gary O’Hair said.

It would be easy to make the football fields a secondary focus. But Dahr is passionate about them.

Sixteen years ago — after he tired of being stuck to a desk as a a graphics designer — he bought the nine-hole Suppesville golf course in Milton, which is southwest of Wichita. He invested 12-hour days, at a minimum, to get the greens where they were playable.

He learned on the job while also picking the brains of two friends who had graduated from Kansas State’s turf program. It took him several years to get the greens to how he wanted them, but as he shows in his job with the Renwick school district, his standards are high.

His care of the football fields involves checking the weather forecast twice a day, double-checking numbers on humidity, wind and the amount of direct sun. If there’s rain, he’ll cut down on the watering on the fields, which are between 1.2 and 1.5 acres.

“For game day, we try and have the watering adjusted to have it soft enough that it’s playable and no one gets injured because of the fear of concussions,” Dahr said. “But not too soft that it tears up the field and they get hurt.”

Moisture on the grass of a hard field can also become so slick that it’s dangerous.

Last Friday, it rained during Garden Plain’s game, so Dahr checked out the field after the game to see if there was any damage. He pushed in divots with his foot initially and then an assistant fixed them on Sunday.

Rain is a problem because Dahr can adjust how much water his fields get, but he can’t take the water off.

Some fields get torn up down the center because of the wear and tear that comes from playing freshman, junior varsity, varsity and little league games. Neither Garden Plain nor Andale practice often on the game field.

“I remember playing at Bethel College, and there were so many games on it that by mid-October, the middle was dirt and absolutely packed,” Dusenbury said.

Wind dries out the field, especially when the humidity is low. Dahr waters more frequently on windy days and less when it’s a calm day.

He mows three times a week to produce a thick grass, and also fertilizes and aerifies.

“The biggest issue is Mother Nature,” Dahr said. “Mother Nature and having a schedule and you’re always trying to adjust. Just make sure that you get everything done by Friday night because that’s when the lights come on.”

Dahr talks to O’Hair and Dusenbury about problem areas, and they’ll stay off specific portions of the field that need time to heal.

There are times when Dahr is frustrated as he looks for ways to quickly solve a grass problem.

But that’s when he looks at a photo on his office wall at Andale. It’s a photo of the Elgin, Ill., high school football field where the groundskeeper accidentally put grass killer down instead of fertilizer — effectively turning the field into 100 yards of dirt.

“Mistakes happen all the time. It’s how you react to them that’s the big thing,” Dahr said.

He can’t imagine either school putting down artificial turf in place of the grass.

Neither can Andale senior lineman Mark Hageman.

“I feel like grass is how Andale football is — it’s traditional,” Hageman said.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Andale, Garden Plain keep it real with their football fields."