| By R. Michael Anderson
County Line staff writer
The late Dick Shipley, a Pop Warner football coach for
decades, lived long enough to see a future football field
named in his honor two years ago at the Orange Park Athletic
Association sports complex, where he helped mold the minds
and bodies of countless youngsters.
He isn't around today, however, to see the transformation
taking place on Shipley Field. What once was a low-lying
patch of woods near the end of Fromhart Street is now an
open field, about 6 feet above street level after numerous
truckloads of dirt were brought in and spread around and
packed down by Clay County and Orange Park public works
employees.
Anchoring the field are four 70-foot poles, equipped with 32
light fixtures that will shine down on young gridiron
athletes during night games. The $38,800 lighting system was
provided by the Orange Park Town Council. Soon, electric
cables and irrigation pipes will be installed in the ground
beneath the playing field. Then, the surface will be graded
and, finally, grass seed planted. "Hopefully, this week or
next we'll have the power running to those poles out there,"
said Paul Hollenbacher, president of the Orange Park
Athletic Association. "Our goal is to have the sprinkler
system installed by the end of June. Then we're going to lay
the grass seed."The field will not be ready in time for fall
football season, but at least players might be able to
practice on the field in a couple of months, he said.
Hollenbacher said the town spared no expense when it came to
choosing the lights. "It's Musco lighting equipment; it's
high-quality stuff," he said. "We could have gone a cheaper
route but the town wanted to spend the extra money to go
with Musco. Musco is known for its sports lighting. That's
what they use at Daytona Speedway."
When you've got grammar school kids running, jumping and
banging into each other at night, you want the best lighting
available, said Mike Chandler, the athletic association's
football commissioner and the man who has been ramrodding
the Shipley Field construction project. With the Musco
lighting, he said, there "won't be any dark spots" on the
field at night. Chandler said he could not predict exactly
when all the work will be completed. But he says it is
possible that Pop Warner players could scrimmage on the
field this fall. "My main goal for this year is to have it
lighted, practiceable and secure, meaning fenced all
around," he said. "In November, after the season's over,
we're going to start on the second phase." The next phase,
he said, will include construction of a 60-by-60-foot
building that will house a concession stand, restrooms, a
press box and elevated observation deck. Bleachers, a
scoreboard and goal posts also will be erected.
The building will be centrally located between Shipley Field
and the adjacent Davis Field, which has been the Orange Park
Athletic Association's only football field for many years.
Both fields are named in honor of the two men, both now
deceased, who paved the way for youth football in Orange
Park. "Davis Field is named after John Davis," said
Chandler. "He and Dick Shipley were the inaugural coaches at
OPAA in the mid to late '60s. They coached together and were
instrumental in bringing Pop Warner football to Orange
Park."
A second field is long overdue for an athletic association
that has grown tremendously, said Rick Shipley, an OPAA
coach who grew up in the association under the guidance of
his father. "My son played down there, I played down there
and my father and I coached together for 22 years," said
Shipley, now 42 and coach of a team he played on more than
30 years ago -- the Cyclones. "We have multiple teams in
each age division now. Some of the teams play away more than
they do at home because we don't have enough field space."
Shipley said the new field would not be a reality if not for
the help of Town Manager John Bowles, the Orange Park Town
Council and county officials who provided, according to
Chandler, an estimated 200 to 300 truckloads of fill dirt.
The association also has added a flag football league, and
those games sometimes have to be played starting at 7 a.m.
to avoid a conflict with regular football games, Shipley
said. Having a second field, he said, should allow "the
little guys to play at a more reasonable time, around 9 in
the morning."
Staff writer R. Michael Anderson can be reached at (904)
278-9430 or manderson@jacksonville.com. |
