Every 3 weeks our team will perform a field shift on the full sided fields. A field shift is when we move the entire field to the left or the right of the starting 'center' alignment of the field. It is important to have this field shift because it helps in reducing ware and tear on highly trafficked areas, such as the goal mouth. The fields are shifted on a 3 week schedule. Our grounds crew shifts 17 out of our 21 natural grass fields over the span of 2 days!!! To shift the fields they must first ensure the current field lines are not visible. Sometimes it is necessary to paint over the lines with a green paint to help distinguish the new field lines. After the "old field" is faded, our grounds crew will have to remeasure every line to ensure complete accuracy in the new field. Once the field lines are measured the crew will finish off by painting the lines over! 

The 4 natural grass fields that are not shifted in the 3-week period are the short-sided fields. These fields have essentially 2-3 smaller fields within the one large field. Our short-sided fields get shifted every 4 weeks, which will fall halfway through our SAM Soccer season.

If the Washington Spirit have a home Saturday game, on Wednesday they will practice on the stadium field. To prepare for this anomaly the stadium field will get a fresh cut, and paint all before their practice begins at approximately 10 am.