David Culbreth is always on the lookout for technological advances that will save school coaches time from certain aspects of their work so they can devote more of it to their students and families.
His latest discovery is the Turf Tank Two, which tackles the arduous task of lining athletic fields for play and turns it into a job for one person and one machine.
Culbreth, the student activities director of Cumberland County Schools, said he learned of the device a few years ago. Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation purchased a couple of the machines, and Culbreth saw them in use.
He saw the machine at a couple of athletic trade shows he attended and observed a demonstration at Pine Forest High School.
The Turf Tank Two can paint lines for any kind of field, including lacrosse, soccer, football, baseball and softball. It can also paint complex graphics, like the big designs at midfield for football.
According to online information, Turf Tank Two sells for about $50,000, but for school systems like Cumberland County with multiple fields to paint, the return on the investment is estimated to be only 12 to 18 months.
Culbreth said the device is a huge improvement from the days when multiple coaches would spend up to six or seven hours lining a football field for play.
“It’s a lot of work, sweat and aggravation,” Culbreth said.
The Turf Tank Two can be operated by one person who does the programming of the device, cutting the painting time down to three hours and 20 minutes.
Once the device is programmed, the operator’s main job is to keep filling the Turf Tank Two with paint.
Culbreth said the field also must be cleared of all obstacles before the machine is turned loose to work. It automatically adjusts for uneven spots on the surface of the field.
While Culbreth has not put anything in writing, his early plan is to use the machine to paint every football and soccer field at the start of the fall sports season. Each school will purchase its own paint, and the county will schedule use of the machine.
He is not sure how much the machine will be used to line baseball and softball fields since they don’t require as much work as football does.
Culbreth noted some cleaning and maintenance will be required on the machine, and he’s yet to pick the person who will be responsible for running it and taking care of it.
“Hopefully this spring, we’ll start really utilizing it so that by the time the fall runs around, we are wide open with it,” he said.
Follow Earl Vaughan Jr. on Twitter @EarlVaughanJr.
