As 75 high school coaches from around Northeast and Central Ohio stood on the practice fields at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, they watched a line-marking machine paint the outline of the field.
The demonstration was a part of the "Revels Education Summit" hosted by the Browns and Revels Turf & Tractor, in which representatives from Revels and the Browns grounds crew spoke about the best practices of turf and lawn care maintenance.
"Events like this are a great opportunity to bring together coaches, athletic directors and maintenance teams from high schools across the area to share ideas and see new technology in action," Larry Adcock, Corporate Sales Manager at Revels Turf & Tractor, said. "One of our favorite parts was being able to demonstrate equipment that can help automate time-consuming tasks like field painting, giving staff more time to focus on supporting students and creating a great experience for their athletes. We appreciate the Cleveland Browns organization for hosting an event that invests in both athletics and the people behind the scenes who help make it all possible."
Browns Head Groundskeeper Chris Powell and the grounds crew have worked with Revels Turf & Tractor to provide the equipment used to maintain the practice fields at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus and the field at Huntington Bank Field. Revels Turf & Tractor has partnered with the Browns since 2024.
Powell also spoke to the attendees about how his crew takes care of the Browns fields – both at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus and Huntington Bank Field. As many of the coaches in attendance have turf fields at their respective facilities, Powell discussed the main differences between turf and grass fields, and his experiences of caring for the two different surfaces.
"I think it's a very, very important thing, because obviously injuries are a huge part of the game that we're trying to limit, especially at the youth level," GlenOak High School assistant football coach Dugan May said. "It's a big deterrent at times for people putting their kids into sports. I think it's going to take a while before a lot of the people start adopting, but as this stuff starts becoming more obtainable, I think you're going to see people transition to that – just like how turf kind of took over. It was very informative to hear, because you don't really ever hear about grass, especially when you're coaching, but really informative."
Those in attendance also received a tour of the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus and had the opportunity to meet Browns alumnus Felix Wright.
