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Mound Repair
1. There is a Mound Repair Kit at NB4. (Only the mound at NB is clay...all other mounds are simply Diamond Tex. These pictures show a 60-46 field, but only NB4 is now clay).  Bags of clay, a hand brush, a towel or plastic clay bag and the hose are found in the field box. Each field has a tamper and rakes by the box 2. Mound should be covered when you arrive 3. Mound should be game ready underneath cover.
 
   
4. Under the top layer of Diamond Tex is a "slice" of clay packed about 6 inches into the mound. The slice wraps around the entire rubber, forming a flat "shelf" at the top of the mound. (You should not be able to see this slice. The mound should be evenly covered with Diamond Tex.) 5. After the game there will be worn areas along the front edge of the rubber and by the front-foot landing area from the pitcher's cleats. 6. The clay will have been displaced from these areas and if you find chucks of clay nearby you can replace them into the worn areas. (We only illustrated the rubber area, but please repeat on the front foot landing area, and any other worn area in the clay slice.)
 
     
7. Brush away as much of the Diamond Tex as you can from the worn areas. Diamond Tex, mixed with the clay, reduces the clay's stickiness. 8. Use the rake to loosen up the surface of the worn area. 9. Use the hose attached to the spigot located about 12 inches behind the mound under a yellow cap (the spray bottle is pre-irrigation system) to moisten up the worn areas. Clay should become sticky. Do not over-soak this spot.
 
     
10. Fill in the worn areas with fresh clay after finding as much of the displaced clay as you can. 11. Press the clay into the worn areas. 12. Place a towel over the added clay and tamp the clay.
 
     
13. Clay should be packed tight and flush against the rubber. 14. Soak the areas of newly packed clay ONLY if you are the last game of the day. If a game follows yours, lightly moisten the packed clay with the spray bottle. (If the clay is too sticky for the next game, you can "dry out" the clay by mixing in dry Diamond Tex. Letting the wet clay sit uncovered in the sun will also dry it out very fast...you can do this during BP.) 15. Sprinkle Diamond Tex over the wet clay areas. At NB just use the rakes to loosen the dirt around the sides of the mound and slide dirt over top of the clay.
 
     
16. Spread the Diamond Tex over the wet clay area. Again, these pictures are from Tower Hill, the mound at NB is much bigger and pushing dirt over the clay with a rake-with the rake stopping short of the clay-is much more efficient. 17. The Diamond Tex provides a coating to the clay so that it does not stick to the players cleats. A thin layer should be spread evenly over the clay area, and when complete the mound should look like Picture 3. CAUTION...unlike in this picture, do not rake over the wet area, even after Diamond Tex has covered it. Allow it to dry untouched so it remains smooth. 18. Rake the entire mound taking care around to not disturb the wet areas beneath the Diamond Tex, and cover with the tarp.
 

Possible Problems:

Uncovered mound and wet clay. Use Dry Diamond Tex to mix with the clay. This should be a last resort as once we mix the Diamond Tex in with the Clay it never packs as well again.

Dried out mound. If the weather gets hot and a mound is left uncovered the clay will dry out and crack like a desert. SLOWLY start to moisten the clay with the water bottle. The clay will absorb a lot of water very quickly, but once it is too soaked you have a sticky mess…be patient.

The mounds on Field A and Field C have a Mound Saver Feature. A plastic shelf extends from the front of the rubber to limit, and essentially eliminate the huge divot often found at the front edge of the rubber. This should not be necessary with a packed clay mound, and may cause problems as there is not enough depth for the clay to sick if it is dry.

We have turned the rubber on Field B around, with the shelf facing towards center field as an experiment.

LVBA has fixed the mounds so our kids can enjoy them. Please respect the work that has gone into them, and prepare them for the next team as best you can. Please assign a parent to take care of the mound after each game. The process takes 15 minutes once you get the hang of it.

Last, Please do not pitch batting practice from the mound. Pitch from in front of the mound. Have the players hit from the back of the backstop. This will reduce wear and tear on the batters box areas, and reduce the number of balls lost.

For questions or help with the mounds please contact Al Tielemans (917.679.7327, altielemans@gmail.com), or Tim Maher (267-275-5364, ).
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