AYSO Reduced Cost by 2/3 and Increased Quality of Fields
About This Customer Story
Bryan Samuels is the Regional Commissioner for AYSO Region 214, an all-volunteer soccer association with:
- 1800 children enrolled
- 200 teams
- 8 locations and
- 28 different fields
They use all kinds of soccer fields ranging from small U4/U5 soccer fields up to full-size upper division fields for 17-18 year old players as well.
AYSO have been very happy with their decision to bring aboard the TinyLineMarker Sport field painter which they never thought would be so easy to use.
The biggest benefit for them has been the cost savings; they have reduced their material cost by 2/3 while increasing the quality of their fields.
Start-Up for AYSO Soccer Organization
Bryan Samuels was turned onto the idea of an automatic field painter by one of his peers. After looking into different options, Bryan and his team decided that the TinyLineMarker Sport was the best solution for them because, as he says, anybody could do it. This made it perfect for their organization, which is an all volunteer organization. They also looked at other available solutions but these had a much more complicated set-up and hardware configuration according to Bryan. So from an all-volunteer perspective, they decided to “Keep it simple”, in Bryan’s own words.
Experience with Transportation and Setup
Previously, AYSO had a volunteer paint the field but when this was no longer an option, Bryan himself got involved and took care of the soccer field painting. He noticed very quickly how easy it was to learn to use the TinyLineMarker Sport field painter takes. He also remarked that in his day-to-day work with the robot, it takes very little time to set up and get ready for painting fields.
The transportation is very easy for the soccer association and allows them to easily reach their different locations, all using a regular sized Prius to transport the robot.
“I was able to pick the machine up, put it in the back of my Prius, and drive it around to the various fields, pulled it out (…), touch the tablet, set Go and away it went”, says Bryan.
“I Never Thought It Would Be This Easy”
In Bryan’s opinion, if people are used to using a smartphone or similar, then they can easily operate the TinyLineMarker Sport field painter. “I never thought it would be this easy”, Bryan added. Teaching others how to use the field painter has also been “really straightforward”.
Managing Sports Fields and Templates
Managing the fields and templates from the tablet has been amazing according to Bryan. As he says, a lot of the time and money required for field painting has to do with the initial lining of the fields and all of that goes away with the TinyLineMarker Sport.
“The templates are drag and drop, you put them on a Google satellite image, you can modify them, shrink them, grow them, spin them, move them in slight directions here or there to avoid mud puddles. It’s really been amazing, it’s been a huge time and money saver. And for an organization like ours which is all volunteer non-profit, any sort of time or financial savings, we like to take advantage of.”
One of the biggest benefits of the robot has also been the flexibility to move the fields around to avoid some of the field damage that comes from daily use, according to Bryan. “Having the ability to move them is really an amazing advantage that we didn’t really realize that we would be able to harness so quickly, so it’s been awesome.”
Material Cost Reduced by 2/3
When asked which goals they had in mind when purchasing the robot, Bryan immediately stated that their goal was to reduce cost. Their field cost and field spend took up about 33% of their annual budget which was too much. With the robot, they are now able to save money, save time, reduce labor cost and reduce material cost. Bryan estimates that they will be able to pay back the investment within year 1 of operation. Now they are able to save not only a great amount of time, but also paint.
“Everything about the robot has exceeded our expectations, it’s been awesome.”
With the robot, Bryan feels that the AYSO Region 214 organization can focus more on what they originally set out to do, which is providing a better soccer experience to the 1800 kids that enroll there.
“So rather than being field experts or painting experts, we can focus our energy on teaching kids the game of soccer.”
Rough Terrain, But Straight Lines
Bryan noted that being located in Southern California does have its challenges. “We have drought conditions, we have drainage conditions, we use public facilities, so the robot’s ability to traverse various terrain and still maintain really high-quality straight lines really surprised us.”
High Consistency and Quality
Also, the field painter’s ability to apply the same fields with high accuracy week after week has been a good experience for the users at AYSO. As Bryan says, friends and visitors of the soccer association who now come to their fields tell them how amazing their fields look week after week compared to previous seasons.
Cleaning The Soccer Field Painter
The cleaning part of using the soccer field painter is also just another step in the process, according to Bryan. And it has been made very easy with the accompanying user tablet.
“The tablet walks you through step by step how to clean the robot, empty the robot, clean the nozzle and clean the pump (…) It’s very easy.”
Positive Experience
Having used the robot for almost half a year already, Bryan has been very pleased with the fact that they have not had a single problem with the robot’s performance, throughput or the cleaning process.
Bryan has also been very happy about the collaboration with TinyMobileRobots and our US partner Autmow. The initial set-up process of getting started and the whole experience of dealing with Autmow and TinyMobileRobots has been very positive, Bryan says.
The Biggest Benefit
According to Bryan, the biggest benefit has been the cost savings, especially the reduced material cost coming from reduced paint consumption.
Bryan and his team would definitely recommend the TinyLineMarker Sport to other sports organizations and associations and they are already considering other ways to put the field painter to use.
“There are other advantages to the machine that we’re starting to think about, like helping other regions in our area pre-stripe a field.”
