From football to flag football, band to soccer, Carstens Field at DGN is constantly occupied. With so much action on the turf and limited time after school, managing field time has become a challenge for DGN athletics.
DGN is surrounded by the Downers Grove community, creating a landlocked layout that leaves little room for expansion and additional fields. This lack of space causes field time to be carefully planned, a responsibility that falls largely on the athletic department. Associate principal for athletics David Rose oversees the scheduling for all DGN teams and manages facilities for athletics and activities.
“We have great facilities, but we have limited facilities,” Rose said. “We have four levels of football, three levels of soccer, and two levels of flag football, and we’re trying to squeeze them all into three fields after school.”
According to Rose, managing the field time is a constant puzzle. The athletic department accounts for factors such as player safety and weather, in addition to the activity schedule. Between daily practices, games, and rehearsals, the athletic department balances and decides which programs get the turf each day.
“We try to rotate our varsity programs on Carstens Field,” Rose said. “It’s our highest level of competition, and they will be playing their games on Carstens, so we try to get them on there as much as possible.”
The athletic department manages activities every day, trying to effectively spread out time on Carstens Field. The system, though complex, strives to be as fair as possible, according to varsity boys soccer head coach Rafal Slomba.
“I think the system is designed with fairness in mind,” Slomba said. “Everyone’s season brings different needs, and the athletic department does a good job of trying to balance that.”
To balance time on Carstens field and keep schedules functioning properly, communication and cooperation among coaches is important. Slomba and other coaches work closely with the athletic department on fitting their team or activity into the tight schedule.
“Scheduling can be tight since Carstens is a shared space with several programs using it throughout the year,” Slomba said. “Coordinating times that fit everyone’s needs takes some flexibility, but the communication among coaches and the athletic department helps make it work smoothly.”
Cooperation goes beyond just athletics. To make the schedule work, some activities like the marching band adapt to the crowded field schedule. They help free up space by rehearsing after the practice window immediately following the school day.
“We’ve started later just so that we can more easily have field time,” band director Jessen Smith said. “They appreciated that we start a little later because it makes things easier on their end.”
With so many programs using the same space, the field and surrounding track are sometimes divided among multiple activities. This can limit space for coaches and players, forcing adjustments to plans and practice formats.
“We’ve had to switch up our plans quite a few times depending on the space we have,” Slomba said. “If the full field isn’t available, we’ll focus more on small-sided games, technical work, or position-specific drills. It’s all about adapting the session so the players still get quality reps, even when space is limited.”
For now, Carstens Field remains a shared space. The athletic department will continue to work with coaches to balance practice time and competition schedules, ensuring every group gets their turn in the stadium.
“Everyone wants to feel like they’re under the lights, and everyone deserves that feeling,” Smith said. “But when you get down to the daily nitty-gritty of it, I think considering just the general impact of it would be a good way to start.”
