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/448298
30 SportsTurf | February 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com T he days of progressing along a career path without at least some related schooling are quickly coming to a close, no matter what industry you are in. Colleges and universities alike are offering more and more programs for even the most niche industries, pro- grams that many people would consider to be unnecessary. To some, "Turfgrass Management" would fall into this cat- egory. After all, "How much could you possibly learn about growing and mow- ing grass?" For those of us in the industry, the answer is obvious, "A lot!" No matter what sector of the turf industry you are in it is becoming imperative to have at least a base post-secondary education in the field if you ever hope to become a competent and effective turf manager. Yet the need and importance of educa- tion does not end once you have received that "piece of paper" and secured a posi- tion within the industry; this should be considered only the beginning. To be a successful sports turf manager, one of the most important resources and tools you can have is ongoing education, as well as the ability to educate the people around you on the job. On the jOb nOt enOugh Like any job, most of the skills a sports turf manager needs in order to per- form their duties will be learned simply through experience in the field. Why, then, is education so important? Education is less important in teaching us "how" to do our job, but rather gives us the perspective of "why" that job is being done how it is. This allows us to look with a critical eye at the work being done, and determine whether there is a more effective means of reaching the same or, more importantly, superior results. It is all too easy for a turf manager to fall into a comfortable rou- tine or set of management practices that produce acceptable results with little to no adjustments, year after year, without ever looking critically at what is being done to see if there are improvements that could be made. In most cases, a critical eye can always find ways to improve upon what is being done. In this ever-evolving industry, it is important that turf managers are working hard to improve and keep pace with the constant new hurdles they are faced with, as there will come a time when "acceptable results" will no longer cut it. An ongoing education can equip us with an ever-ex- panding arsenal of tools necessary to adapt and come up with new solutions, and ensure that we are keeping a critical view of our management regime to guarantee the continued success of our operations. There are a number of ways for turf managers to ensure that they are receiv- ing industry specific, ongoing education throughout the duration of their careers. One of the most important ways we can do this is to become an active mem- ber of an industry association. These associations strive to support industry professionals in a variety of different ways. They provide members with access to current industry research and up-to-date information through regular publications, magazines, and educa- tional books focused on sports turf. They also facilitate professional develop- ment for their members through annual educational conferences, symposiums, workshops, and field days designed to keep sports turf managers informed on current topics within the industry. Finally, they offer access to the wealth of invaluable experience and advice of their network of industry experts, who are there to offer assistance to sports turf managers with whatever turf related problems they are having. Aside from becoming involved with an industry association, turf manag- ers should always be seeking out and Achieving success in the turf industry thrOugh cOntinuing educAtiOn FACILITY & OPERATIONS ■ By Sidney Ryzebol dr. Robert W. Sheard, for whom the scholar- ship is named, with 2014 recipient Sydney Ryzebol and Sports Turf Canada past president Paul Gillen at the association's 27th Annual Field Day in Guelph, ON.