SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/433388
24 SportsTurf | December 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Facility & Operations | By Andy Yeaman D eciding to move to the USA from Scotland and get married was a big deal but one that I was ready for. But a question remained: What was I going to do for work? My background in agriculture must stand me in good stead to do something right, I thought. Moving was one thing but now I was up for a bigger challenge—changing careers. Working on farms and running my own small ag contracting business had been a valuable exercise and had stood me in good stead for things to come. Land work had always been in my blood and was handed down to me from my father who had worked on farms and had also been a small business owner running his own agricultural contracting company all his adult life. A good work ethic was paramount; I learned how to manage men and budgets and how to be a diplomat, which seemed the hardest to grasp as it does not come naturally to me and definitely is not my strong point! There were a few jobs here and there but eventually I found a small liberal arts college in Deerfield, IL that needed a grounds supervisor, and so I moved to Trinity International University where I started my career in sports fields and grounds. I found out about the STMA and applied for its Field of the Year Award in the same week. Being new to sports fields this may have seemed a little naïve but actually it has been a good decision because I maintained some momentum which maybe I would not have done otherwise. I have since changed jobs and now am the grounds manager for Adlai E Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, replacing the well-respected and retiring Jeff Green, who had been at the school for 27 years. This was no small feat as Jeff is well known in the busi- ness, and put the fields in at Stevenson. The one thing I didn't have to worry about was people understanding the work it takes to get results, and who endorsed sports fields and the management that they demand. Stevenson is a large school consisting of around 4,500 pupils, many of whom play soccer, football, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis and baseball among other sports. Stevenson has a winning culture that will be expected to continue during my time here. Working at Stevenson has been a good transition, having a great crew of guys and the backing of a wonderful institution which is hungry for success is a great feeling, Not only do I have their back- ing in the workplace, Stevenson endorses wholeheartedly the STMA and my involvement with a professional and educational body for which I thank them. The STMA has been great for me, and to win College Football Field of the Year nationally was amazing. Now though we have to keep the standard up and endeavor to do it all again, which is what grounds and sports turf managers do everyday. ■ Andy Yeaman is grounds manager for Adlai E Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. What does a scotsman do after winning an STMA Field of the Year Award? Editor's note: We are giving some space to Andy Yeaman, who was in charge of a 2013 winner in STMA's Field of the Year Awards but had left that facility by the time this magazine covered his winning field. Yeaman emigrated from Scotland 8 years ago to get married; here is his turf management story. Andy Yeaman