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/460594
40 SportsTurf | March 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com Home Depot and the like. Ultimately, both teams and the facility were ready to play the game, so the ACC determined that it made the most sense to soldier on under the circumstances. After another cozy night in my office, which I called home for three days, it was back to work on the fields. The FOY board is filled with sports turf professionals so they know what it takes to produce a quality surface. This is why I have not spent that much time on the grounds work specifically. Bottom line, my crew did and an exceptional job keeping things running as close to normal as possible in very abnormal times and not without a lot of per- sonal sacrifice. SportsTurf: How did you get started in turf management? Jon DeWitt: First by working for my dad's lawn care company, so I entered the green industry from the ornamental/commercial side. Later I worked at my high school maintaining their general grounds and then fields; eventually I really developed a passion for fields. I worked my way through college maintaining that same facility (oddly enough my degree is in English, not agriculture). Then I went on to get a full-time job maintaining school grounds and fields. ST: What was your first turf-related job? DeWitt: Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham, AL. ST: How do you balance family life with work demands? DeWitt: Basically, I don't. I've haven't been great in this area; day to day I'm fairly absentee; however, I try to make it up by doing big events, usually sports related, where industry contacts and such affords us superior access. I do my best to get up for big special occasions. Next year is going to be a challenge because my twin daughters are going to be seniors and I've got the whole college thing to do. I am quite concerned about juggling that and work. ST: How do you see the job changing in the future? DeWitt: More, more, more all the time. I see this at all levels, from peewees to the pros; more camps, more practices, more outside events—things are on the verge of out of control now and only going to get worse. More social media and what not behind the scenes, which I find rather annoying, it is just another obstacle or delay in trying to get your work done. ST: What are your specific job responsibilities? Chris May: I manage the baseball field at Russ Chandler Stadium with the assistance of Brandon Thrower. My main focus is the turf, infield skin, and edges. Brandon concentrates on the mound and plate. We share the mowing and bullpen work. Our crew only has six employees to maintain 13+ acres and we all have to help out on other fields. We try and concentrate on the sports in season. This is very challenging at times to switch gears from sport to sport. ST: What do you find most enjoyable? May: I love this question because everyone always expects me to say mowing. For me, nothing is better than working edges. Making sure you maintain smooth, level transitions is an art. Mowing pat- terns are for the fans. The edges are for the game. ST: What task is your least favorite and why? May: I absolutely cannot stand aerifying. I love the practice and the results we get from it, but I hate sitting on a noisy tractor for 4 hours moving at 1.2 mph. ST: What changes if any are you considering or implementing for Russ Chandler Stadium in 2015? May: We won't change much up for the 2015 season. We will be using a new infield conditioner from Turface and are experi- menting with some new mound clays. The more I mature in this industry I realize there are no magic products. The success of your playing surface comes down to how much time you're willing to put in to it. ■ ST