A Leap for the Lynx: Athletic Complex Opens a New Era at Carroll

For years, Carroll Community College’s student-athletes have competed with lots of talent, determination, and team spirit.

Now, they have a home field to match.

The grand opening of the James D. Ball Athletic Complex, named in honor of Carroll’s President Emeritus Dr. James D. Ball, launches a new era for Lynx Athletics. The first-class facility gives Carroll’s student-athletes a place to train and compete while creating new opportunities for the greater Carroll County community.

“I am really excited to play at our new home turf field and have the fans come out and support us,” said Lynx women’s soccer player Hannah Peterson.

A Field to Call Home

The first phase of the athletics expansion introduces the Lynx Athletic Field, featuring:

• A FieldTurf® synthetic playing surface
• A Beynon 400-meter, eight-lane regulation running track
• Dedicated areas for hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, hammer throw, and steeplechase
• Integrated spectator seating
• Musco sports lighting for evening competitions and community events

More than an impressive new facility, the athletic complex gives Carroll student-athletes something especially meaningful: a home for the Lynx they can be truly proud of.

For Carroll’s track & field athletes, having a home facility represents an even greater transformation. Previously, the team traveled to local high schools for practices, working around the schedules of other athletic programs.

“Before, we would go down to South Carroll to practice. On some days we’d go up to Winters Mill,” said Mark Reedy, Carroll’s Head Coach for Track & Field and Cross Country. “To have our own home, I think it’s going to be such a big draw for the school.”

Reedy believes the new facility signals just how far the College’s growing Athletics program has come.

“The Athletics program at Carroll is taking another step forward,” he said. “It’s a young program, but we’ve got everything in place as far as quality coaches, quality athletes—and now a new quality facility.

This facility expands opportunities for our student-athletes, strengthens the campus experience, and creates a welcoming space where students, families, partners, and community members can gather and grow.

Leveling the Playing Field

The athletic complex’s new turf changes how Lynx athletes practice and compete.

Its smoother, more consistent surface allows for a faster, more predictable game and gives Carroll athletes the opportunity to train under conditions comparable to many of their competitors.

“I feel like it gives us a better advantage because a lot of teams that we play away have turf fields,” said women’s soccer player Saige Coufal-Shifflett. She added that the quicker movement of the ball can help the team sharpen its technical skills and become a faster-playing team.

Emma Jewell, one of Saige’s teammates, described the new turf as a reflection of something bigger happening within Lynx Athletics.

“It’s a testament to the school and the progress we’ve made over the last three years,” she said. “It shows that Carroll is really serious about its Athletics program. It puts us on an even playing field with the other schools that we play against.”

Women’s Soccer Head Coach Carl Delmont sees those benefits as well. “Playing on turf is a lot better than playing on grass,” he said. “The game is faster. It’s a little more controllable. It’s more predictable in some ways.”

A Place for Carroll County to Come Together

The vision for the James D. Ball Athletic Complex extends well beyond Carroll’s intercollegiate teams.

Coaches envision youth recreation programs, local athletes, and community members using the complex and attending events. Those experiences can begin building connections to Carroll years before a future student ever enrolls.

“I truly believe the facility is going to benefit the entire community,” Coach Reedy said. He has already been in contact with a local recreation council whose track & field program serves 135 young athletes. “Kids can come over here when they’re eight years old and this becomes a home for them.”

This connection could grow from a child competing in a recreation program on the College’s field with their family cheering from the stands, to that same child as a high school athlete who later chooses to wear Carroll’s colors.

“I’m excited about playing on the new field and hopefully getting a night game or two,” said men’s soccer player Zach Herb. “The government and the College have put together a stadium the entire county can use. It shows that Carroll County and the school have a lot of camaraderie and can work together to get stuff done.”

The athletic complex also has the potential to become a gathering place in its own right.

“It becomes a meeting place,” Reedy said, imagining community members coming to the complex to walk, run, and be active. “People are going to drive by. They’re going to see people there, and they’re going to say, ‘I need to get in shape too. That looks like a nice place to do it. I’m going to go there.

The Future of Lynx Athletics Starts Here

I am really excited to play at our new home turf field and have the fans come out and support us.

The James D. Ball Athletic Complex arrives at a pivotal moment for Carroll Athletics.

Talented athletes are joining the Lynx. Coaches are cultivating competitive programs and strong team cultures. Students are developing friendships, confidence, discipline, and leadership skills through athletics. And now, they have a facility capable of helping all of it grow even more.

Reedy is already seeing the complex make a difference in recruiting, calling the new facility “an intricate part of the recruiting package” and saying it makes Carroll more enticing to prospective student-athletes.

But perhaps the biggest change will be visible on game day: Lynx student-athletes competing on their own field while classmates, families, friends, and community members cheer them on from the stands.

As Hannah Peterson put it, the new turf means Carroll’s athletes can “play at our best ability on the best field possible.”

“The James D. Ball Athletic Complex represents what is possible when a community comes together around a shared vision,” said Carroll President Dr. Rose Mince. “This facility expands opportunities for our student-athletes, strengthens the campus experience, and creates a welcoming space where students, families, partners, and community members can gather and grow.”

With accomplished coaches, ambitious student-athletes, and an awesome new facility at the center of it all, Carroll is building something bigger than a place to play. It’s building a better home for the Lynx and a new place for Carroll County to come together.