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/605094
www.stma.org December 2015 | SportsTurf 9 "I think you have to earn that every day in the trenches with them," she said. "Just like an athlete, you earn the right to be the starter every week in practice, and it only takes one major screw-up to destroy that trust. Coaches want to know that their turf managers see the large picture of success for the program and makes a conscience effort to be a part of that." Michigan State's turf manager position has reported to Greg Ianni, deputy athletics director for facilities and sports manage- ment, since its inception. He ranks MSU's venues among the best he's toured across the nation and said it's important for turf managers to realize they don't just grow grass. They must have an understanding the mindset of the people they work with whether it's a coach, administrator, student-athlete or sup- port staff. "She's responsible for some pretty heady things around here that are really important to our coaches and our student-ath- letes," Ianni said. "She gets it. She doesn't have the type of ego where she can't take criticism and if something's not right she wants to know about it. Her ability to build relationships with our coaches is really, really important. Amy embraces that and wants to be a part of those programs and staffs that make those teams successful." When Dantonio arrived in 2007, all he asked Fouty to pro- vide was 100 yards of "firm, fast field" to facilitate his running attack. "I explained my philosophy to have this field play consis- tently from game to game and year to year so when the kids come over here to play, mentally they're confident that what they're walking out onto will give them the best opportunity to be the best athlete they can be," Fouty said. "It is important that as a turf manager you understand the game, can speak in the language they understand, not just 'grass talk.' "It is important to show up to practice, events, and in the office to just see how things are going. We have to all relate, contribute to benchmarks for success, and achieve goals. We do this together. The turf manager sets the stage for greatness." As a graduate of Michigan State's world-renowned turfgrass management program and the holder of a bachelor's degree in psychology, Fouty also has an abiding understanding of the bigger picture at a university whose heritage is inextricably linked to agriculture. "One of the most important things about this field is that this is a representation of our university, our agricultural roots, our history and our tradition," Fouty said. Many say it's just too hard to grow grass fields anymore and have consistent quality and every location has its challenge. Providing championship-level fields in a climate that isn't conducive to maintaining turf—East Lansing is home not only to highly ranked sports teams but is also one of the top-five cloudiest municipalities in the nation—is a challenge that must be addressed 365 days a year and Fouty and her staff pull it off without many hitches. "We plan, we prepare, we are supported in our efforts and we achieve the standard set," she said.