Dozens of volunteers chip in to improve Falls Church baseball field

Standing on the completed warning track, from the left: Coach Paul Johnson, head coach Freddie Rappina, Ryan Krepp, coach Tim Brown, and Ryan Strand.

More than 50 volunteers helped put in a “warning track” on the Falls Church High School baseball field Oct. 6 to help student Ryan Krepp, of Annandale, complete an Eagle Scout project.

A warning track is a 10-foot wide, 520 foot long track that warns outfielders that they have 10 feet before running into the fence, explained Jennifer Escott, Ryan’s mother. It’s a safety precaution.

Installing the track was a massive project, calling for dozens of people to cut up the existing sod and lay 54 tons of blue stone dust. Fairfax County donated eight tons of blue stone, and Krepp collected $1,300 from friends, family, and other scouts to purchase the rest.

Volunteers dig up the sod.

Volunteers who worked on the project included members of the FCHS baseball team, Woodson students in Troop 1533, Annandale students from Troop 1532, various men’s baseball leagues that use the field, Young Life, Mason District Little League, Annandale-North Springfield Little League, other students, parents, and community members. Mark Barbaro, whose son, Brandon is on the FCHS baseball team, donated a bobcat and operator for the day.

FCHS varsity baseball coach Freddie Rappina says it would have cost more than $6,000 if the school had to hire a private company to put in a warning track.

“Baseball has been an important part of my life, and I am excited to give back to my high school,” says Krepp. “With the improvements in the grass put in last year, and now the warning track, Falls Church High School’s baseball field looks great.”