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Marking the Fields:

Being one of the lucky teams that get to play the first game of the day, you get an extra bonus. You get to mark half of the field. The other lucky team does the other half. You can argue over the half-line, or both do it.

Now this is kind of a fun thing to do, but please take it seriously. It makes the game much easier on the kids, referees, coaches, and spectators if the lines are well marked and straight.

Look around the field. Somewhere there should be a painter and several cans of paint. Go get it and bring it to where you want to start.

Setting Up the Painter:

Grab one of the paint cans and shake it until you can hear the can rattle. The rattle is a little ball inside the can that mixes the paint. Continue shaking for another minute. If you never get a rattle, use a different can. 

Once the paint is mixed, remove the plastic cap. Turn the can upside down, and align the nozzle of the paint can with the hole in the bottom of the painter. Push down on one of the latches so the lip of the paint can goes under the catch and release the latch. 

Push down on the other latch, catch the lip on that side, and release. The painter is now ready to go.

Painting the Field:                  

You should be able to see most of the lines from last week. All we have to do now is paint over them. Align the painter over the line you are painting with the paint can over the starting point. Squeeze the handle and slowly walk along the line. I find it works best if you look at the line about 10 feet in front of the painter and head there. If no paint comes out when you squeeze the handle, make sure the lip of the paint can is under both of the catches. When you get to the end of the line, release the handle and move the painter to set up for the next one. It will take several cans of paint to do a field (up to 8), so keep an eye and ear open to tell when the paint can goes empty. When it comes time to do those tiny little corner arcs, I push down on the handle of the painter to lift the front wheels just a little bit. This makes it easier to make those tight circles. On the smaller fields, you may want to do the corner arcs by hand.

Please remember to pick up the empty paint cans and caps. Place them with the painter well off the field. We don’t want someone tripping over the painter. Do not put the empty paint cans in the trash. They need special handling for recycling.