Groups purchase new equipment for Plains sports complex

The Thompson Falls School District has purchased a new Earth & Turf 320MS topdresser to improve athletic field quality across the district and at the Amundson Sports Complex in Plains.

The unit was delivered last month and will be put to use immediately to help maintain and upgrade natural grass playing surfaces for youth athletics in both communities.

This project was made possible through a cooperative community effort that raised $8,994 to fund the purchase. Four organizations each made an equal $2,000 commitment: Thompson Falls School District, Thompson Falls Booster Club, Clark Fork Soccer Booster Club (supporting the Thompson Falls–Plains–St. Regis Soccer Co-op), and the Wildhorse Sports Association. 

Dan Claridge and Nick and Erika Lawyer helped cover the remaining balance. Superintendent Bud Scully, Nick Lawyer, and the Thompson Falls School District provided key leadership in making the project happen, and partners worked together to turn a shared need into a shared solution.

The Earth & Turf 320MS topdresser will allow the district and field managers to apply consistent layers of topdressing material — such as sand, topsoil, and nutrient-rich soil blends — across athletic surfaces. This type of maintenance supports smoother, safer playing fields and more consistent footing for athletes, while helping fields recover from heavy seasonal wear. The unit will be shared between Thompson Falls and Plains to maximize its benefit across multiple field spaces and programs.

“This implement will help our communities build and maintain great field spaces for our kids,” said Nick Lawyer, High School Girls Varsity Coach and Technical Director of Clark Fork Soccer. “This improves playing surfaces and will help make the games better and safer. We’ve already got some amazing sport spaces, and this implement will help us have some of the best fields in western Montana.

Lawyer said the high school soccer program is entirely self-funded through the Clark Fork Soccer Booster Club, which supports the broader youth soccer ecosystem in the region — where more than 650 children have participated in Clark Fork Soccer programming over the last five years.

The investment in field equipment comes at a moment when soccer continues to grow locally and nationally. With 2026 marking the third year of what many are calling a “decade of soccer” in the United States — including the U.S. hosting the Men’s World Cup this summer — and with pre-professional soccer expanding regionally (including new opportunities in Missoula), local partners see strong momentum for the sport and for the facilities that serve youth athletes.