[LUconn]

We shoulda just had a team of guys with Lysol spray after every practice.

[Sly Fox]

FieldTurf and its competitor AstroPlay have been around for a decade now. So there is plenty of evidence of their impact on injuries and their disease carrying abilities. Ask any player who has used it over the years and they'll sing its praises. Its particularly great late int he season when natural grass is normally wiped out and the ground is hard.

BTW to TRBCer, Gracias.

[Chris Lang]

One rumor I heard was that William & Mary didn't ever want to play in Lynchburg again because of the turf and staph infection issues.

[Stevev]

Maybe a lot of good 1AA teams wanted to avoid the old stuff. All of these improvements could open the door to playing better competetion. But first we need to get better ourselves.

[TIMSCAR20]

I am really glad we are getting the new stuff. It looks good in person too. Better than natural grass. It looks like Edward Scissorhands is your grounds keeper. Not a blade out of place. I said back on the old board after going to a Howard football game that I hoped we would get it and a year later we have it...I hope I have a million dollars. (Wait for it, Wait for it.....)

[SuperJon]

I'ma go by the ops center tomorrow and look at it. I don't know if I'll be able to get any pictures though.

[Guest]

Its particularly great late int he season when natural grass is normally wiped out and the ground is hard.

And you don't have to worry about palying in a mud bowl if it rains.

[Libertine]

We shoulda just had a team of guys with Lysol spray after every practice.

We did. We had people standing by w/ disinfectant and bandages to work on any skin abrasions. It cut down on the problem but didn't eliminate it.

W&M getting mursa on our field in '04 was I think the final straw for this turf. I don't know that they ever threatened to never come back but people talk and, once that happened, it got that much harder to schedule teams to come in.

[TRBCer]

The problem started prior to my arrival as head ATC, but we certainly had our share of problems. I brought in the Lynchburg health department to investigate our processes. We bleached all equipment daily, bleached the showers, bleached the seating surfaces, installed air purifiers, and spent in excess of $1500 in "MRSA-proofing" disinfectant products and the measures helped but still did not eliminate the problem. My colleagues at other schools have noticed dramatic increases at their institutions, as well, so it certainly is not exclusively a "Liberty" problem. Interestingly, the LHD did not think the turf was a potential culprit because the rough surface in direct sunlight are non-hospitable places for staph to dwell and they did not feel that the infectious agents would remain viable for long in such an environment. The lockerroom and shower rooms were identified as far more likely places. We even went so far as to have players shower before and after practice, because it is far more likely that MRSA be on the skin of a non-hygenic person than on astroturf. You get two guys locking up with infections on their skin, one of which has an open scratch, and you've got a problem. Showering before and after practice can help minimize (but not eliminate) that risk. BTW...Libertine, do I know you? You seem in the know about this, so I was just curious if we had ever met.

Toby Brooks, PhD, ATC, CSCS, PES
President
Director of Performance Enhancement & Athletic Training
Born Athletic, Inc.
www.bornathletic.com
Born To Win tm

[Libertine]

BTW...Libertine, do I know you? You seem in the know about this, so I was just curious if we had ever met.

Yes, you do. I'll PM you.

[A.G.]

What about the weight room in Hancock? I would think that place would be a breeding ground for infection, too.

[Libertine]

What about the weight room in Hancock? I would think that place would be a breeding ground for infection, too.

Every bit of equipment in there is wiped down every day. The infection had to be in the turf because LCA got it (who never use our weight room and only sparingly used the locker room) as did W&M (who were never in either location).

Hey, Tobe, which was worse? W&M getting sick from us or us getting sick from Chuck Southern's water?

[LU'sbestmanger]

What about the weight room in Hancock? I would think that place would be a breeding ground for infection, too.

something is in the there. a few girls from the softball team, some girls from the track team, and a couple of players on the mens bball team had an infection from the hancock.

[TRBCer]

Hey all-

It is somewhat dangerous to blame one particular facility for something like this. All research I have read states person to person transmission is far more likely than vector transmission or indirect contact transmission. While I am not saying it is impossible, it is more likely that those individuals got it from direct contact with other players. This is a growing problem in all levels of athletic participation. If you want to best protect yourselves and your children, have them wear long sleeves, gloves, tights, etc and cover as much exposed skin as possible. Turns out the Liberty Way prevents disease transmission!

A good cleaner like Hibiclens is critical, too. Hand sanitizer ad nauseum, as well.

Interesting that the Ops Center discussion has spiraled down into a discussion on infection prevention, huh? Sorry mods...move as needed

[LUconn]

Turns out the Liberty Way prevents disease transmission!

I'll get Radfurd on the phone right away.

[Rocketfan]

All research I have read states person to person transmission is far more likely than vector transmission or indirect contact transmission.

If thats true.....i can understand that in basketball and even track ( passing closely in lanes) but what person to person contact happens in softball........yikes.

[A.G.]

Even though TRB states that the weight equipment is wiped off, what about the turf up there? That stuff has to be nasty.

[BJWilliams]

All research I have read states person to person transmission is far more likely than vector transmission or indirect contact transmission.

If thats true.....i can understand that in basketball and even track ( passing closely in lanes) but what person to person contact happens in softball........yikes.

All I can think of would be when players go to slide into a particular base or slide to make a play on the ball

[TRBCer]

Okay, not to get too graphic, gross, or even allude to inappropriate sexual inuendo here with softball (was that what you meant?), person to person contact occurs all the time between teammates. For softball or baseball, let's say the team is playing in the heat of summer. Everyone is sweaty. Your superstar hits a walk-off homerun and also happens to have some MRSA hanging out on her forearm. She strides to the plate victoriously and her teammates congratulate her...one of which has an open wound from scratching a mosquito bite too much. They arm bash at home plate and laugh about the win. There you go. Three days later, she has a huge boil (often misdiagnosed as a spider bite). All of us have staph on our skin, but as long as our skin remains intact, it can't enter our body. Infections require a pathogen, a transmission medium/form, and a recipient. When you have all three, the pathogen is transmitted from the infected person to the recipient. Any open wound, even a popped pimple, is a potential entry site. Turf itself does not "hold" staph...but abrasive turf greatly increases risk because to prevalence of abrasions increases substantially. The more you keep your birthday suit without openings, the better your chances of protecting yourself from infection. Romans 7...my flesh does not do what I want it to do, so it gets infected in the process!!! The new turf will reduce abraisons and thereby reduce risk.

BTW...we had it in the Sun Bowl when I was UTEP and it was awesome. Biggest risk with it is the rubber granules getting in your eyes, especially on "fresh" installed astroplay.

[Brokeback Flamer]

All research I have read states person to person transmission is far more likely than vector transmission or indirect contact transmission.

If thats true.....i can understand that in basketball and even track ( passing closely in lanes) but what person to person contact happens in softball........yikes.

There is soo much I can say here...........................but I will just say BE SAFE!! Always practice safe bodily fluid transmission.
For instance, have a good hand sanitizer near by after meeting large groups of people. Use a strong anti bacterial soap/wash when showering after practice. And of course SHOWER AFTER PRACTICE. I was amazed at how many people dont do that. (Maybe the just felt uncomfortable around me!!) But I always felt they must not have worked that hard.

[Libertine]

Some work has been done on the front porch exterior but it's really been hampered by rain. Inside, drywall and HVAC are preparing for the drop ceiling and all the interior door frames are in place.

Side note: as I'm walking over to the joint, I ran into none other than Sam Gado. He's absolutely huge now. He was 220 and ripped big when he graduated but he's closer to 230 now. It nearly hurts your brain to look at him. Anyway, we chatted for a bit and, when we parted, he asked how he could pray for me. I know some of you guys didn't like Coach Karcher but asking how he could pray for you was one of Ken's trademarks. At least to me, it's wonderful to see something like that continue.

[PAmedic]

rock on! can't wait to see the inside shots.

thanks

[PAmedic]

so LIB- is this colossus gonna be done by homecoming or what? And can you arrange private tours for a few distinguished guests?

[A.G.]

Can anyone confirm if the ONLY PART that will be finished at the beginning is the locker room/training room area? Were budgets cut so they can't outfit the weight room. To quote an American classic--What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is going on here?

[LUconn]

Why is it that for every single thing LU has ever done there are always rumors that they screwed it up in some form or fashion? And don't say it's because they always do because that is false. It's just when things don't go according to plan it's big.