DEMING – What once took most of a workweek for Deming Public Schools to accomplish is now being completed in a fraction of the time, thanks to a new field-marking robot that has transformed how athletic fields are prepared for game day.
For years, Richard Fosha and Carlos Jaquez, who maintain athletic fields for the district, relied on string lines, stencils and paint machines to lay out football and soccer fields. When they started eight years ago, they had little formal training and spent long days measuring distances, pulling lines and hauling heavy stencils across the grass.
Preparing a single regulation football field for a Friday night game often began on Monday and took more than 30 hours of work spread over four days. Even after all that time, the results were limited to basic lines and simple logos, such as a wildcat paw at midfield and “WILDCATS” painted in the end zones.
That changed when the district decided to invest in automated field-marking technology.
Fosha and Jaquez were skeptical at first, having heard concerns about machines replacing jobs. But during a demonstration, they watched a small white robot paint crisp, straight lines across a field while strong winds and blowing dust swept through the area.
The machine performed without interruption, delivering precise lines in conditions that would normally make field painting difficult. The result was a level of accuracy and consistency that was impossible to achieve by hand.
Instead of replacing the two workers, the robot allowed them to shift their time to other important tasks, including maintaining additional athletic fields and preparing restrooms and facilities for game days. Jaquez said the robot functions like an extra team member, allowing them to focus on details they never had time for before.
The robot has even been given a name — Buford — and is now a regular part of field preparation for Deming Public Schools athletics.
District officials say the technology has improved both efficiency and quality, giving students and fans better-looking fields while allowing staff to take more pride in their work.