How Mead High School Became The Coolest High School In Colorado

Daytime temperatures in Longmont, Colorado, hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit for an entire week this August. But football players at Mead High School stayed cool during practices on Mead Maverick Field’s new Vertex Prime surface with CoolPlay infill, installed earlier that month.

“We’ve recorded temperatures of 130 degrees on our old turf field, and I wasn’t comfortable putting kids out there in that kind of heat,” said Jason Klatt, head football coach at Mead High School, where he also is a physical education teacher. “With the new field and CoolPlay, I didn’t expect to notice such a temperature difference, but we all did. We’re really fortunate to have CoolPlay. I’m a believer, I’ll tell you that!”

CoolPlay, FieldTurf’s exclusive and innovative extruded composite top dressing, significantly lowers field temperatures. Independent results concluded that CoolPlay was over 35ºF cooler than traditional sand / rubber infill systems. With over 350 installations, CoolPlay is the most tested and trusted cooling technology available in the industry today.

FieldTurf’s Vertex Prime system is comprised of specially designed slit-film fibers and high-performance ridged monofilament fibers. The fibrillation process of the slit-film component allows for proper infill encapsulation while the monofilament fibers facilitate grass-like ball roll. Both fibers are tufted together in the same stitch for a superior aesthetic appearance.

Klatt and administration officials from Mead High School and the St. Vrain Valley School District did their homework before choosing FieldTurf to replace a competitor’s product at Mead Maverick Field. “We visited and walked fields that FieldTurf had already installed in the area, and that was a key selling factor for us,” he said. “They stood out because of the attention to detail, and representatives from FieldTurf were so professional and helpful throughout the entire process. On the new FieldTurf, we have not had one player with a turf burn, because it plays like grass,” he said. “It’s soft, it’s forgiving, you can still cut and move fast on it, but it plays faster than grass. Basically, it’s the best of both worlds”.

Enrollment at Mead High School is about 1,100, and Mead Maverick Field — which is lined for several sports — is used by physical education classes, the marching band and the cheer squad. “We have every marking that you can have on that field, and it still looks clean,” Klatt said. “Before, the biggest concern was always the heat. Now, everybody’s out there and wants use it all the time.”

FieldTurf is proudly based in Denver, Colorado, and has a long history in the Rocky Mountain Region. FieldTurf is a part of Tarkett Sports, a world leader in athletic surfacing, offering a comprehensive portfolio of sports flooring solutions through its brands: FieldTurf, FieldTurf Landscape, Beynon Sports, Renner Sports, GrassMaster and Tarkett Sports Indoor. With a wide range of products including artificial, hybrid and residential turf, running tracks, tennis courts and indoor athletic surfaces, the Tarkett Sports family offers the ultimate surface experience.