SportsTurf

February 2017

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.

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www.stma.org February 2017 | SportsTurf 35 John Mascaro is President of Turf-Tec International BACKGROUND ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF ISTOCKPHOTO.COM John Mascaro is President of Turf-Tec International Thin and uneven turf is caused by a disease that almost every sports turf manager that has youth baseball has to deal with; I call it "Cleateos- Boredomeos." This disease is caused by a bored 8-year-old baseball player discovering cleats on the bottom of his shoes for the fi rst time. The head groundskeeper noticed that anyone under age seven hasn't really fi gured out their cleats can dig holes, but by age eight, they realize it can happen. Plus, since it is the fi rst year of "kid pitch," there is not a lot of outfi eld activity and the kids get bored. Interestingly, these spots used to be enormous and at one point, the crew resodded an area about 6 x 4 feet in all three outfi eld positions. Since then, they implemented a turf management program to diligently fi ll in the holes right away. Since that point, they have noticed a lot less digging than before. It seems to the head groundskeeper, "if there is a hole already there, they will start to dig and the next kid fi nds it his duty to expand on that hole." Since they mow every other day, when they see a hole they use a hexagon shaped turf plugger to immediately fi x it, add a little water and the job is done. In addition, they remind coaches at every pre-season coach meeting and have several signs up in the dugouts that say, "Grass grows by the inch, but is killed by the foot." They also send a friendly reminder to the coaches who played the previous night if damage has occurred and ask them to pay attention to their outfi elders. PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ANDY OMMEN, HEAD GROUNDSKEEPER AT MCLEAN COUNTY PONY BASEBALL IN BLOOMINGTON, IL. If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro's Photo Quiz please send it to John Mascaro, 1471 Capital Circle NW, Ste # 13, Tallahassee, FL 32303 call (850) 580-4026 or email to john@turf-tec.com. If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of SportsTurf magazine and the Sports Turf Managers Association. Thin and uneven turf is caused by a disease that almost every sports turf manager that has youth baseball has to deal with; I call it "Cleateos- Boredomeos." This disease is caused by a bored 8-year-old baseball player discovering cleats on the bottom of his shoes for the fi rst time. The head groundskeeper noticed that anyone under age seven hasn't really fi gured out their cleats can dig holes, but by age eight, they realize it can happen. Plus, since it is the fi rst year of "kid pitch," there is not a lot of outfi eld activity and the kids get bored. Interestingly, these spots used to be enormous and at one point, the crew resodded an PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ANDY OMMEN, HEAD GROUNDSKEEPER AT MCLEAN COUNTY PONY BASEBALL IN BLOOMINGTON, IL. John Mascaro's Photo Quiz Answers from page 19 We've reinvented the classic groundskeeper's tamp. The SweetSpot is a more adaptable tool that delivers an efficient strike every time. This is the best tamp you'll ever buy. 800-747-5985 BeaconAthletics.com The tamp reinvented. B E A C O N ' S L AT E S T I N N OVAT I V E S O L U T I O N … PATENT PENDING n Interchangeable tamp heads n Articulating tamp head n Reduces or eliminates vibration F O R F A C I L I T I E S . F I E L D M A I N T E N A N C E . G A M E - P R A C T I C E E Q U I P M E N T

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