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/77829
F.O.Y. | Pizza Hut Park of the hard work my crew and I put into each event pay off. One event we enjoy is the NCAA football game. It is enjoyable to get out of the normal routine of painting for soccer or just the basic lines, numbers, and hashes for high school football. It is a long week of painting logos and end zones, but when finished it is nice to see what normally is a soccer field converted into a champi- onship football field. have to cover the field for a concert or other special event. I always cringe when we do this knowing that all the work we put in to making the pitch perfect could be ruined in just a couple of days. The flooring we put down does a great job protecting the field and we normally have a 50-hour turn around on install and pick up, but we just never know how much damage will be done each time. SportsTurf: What task is your least favorite and why? Reed: The least favorite part of the job would be anytime we What was your first sports turf job? Reed: I started out college as a Sports Medicine major and found out quickly that was not what I wanted to do. I had mowed lawns while in high school and knew I wanted to work outside and be around sports, so I switched over to Turf Manage- ment. Shortly thereafter I started working as a student for Leo Goertz and Craig Potts on Texas A&M Athletic Field staff. I worked there the last 3 years of college and interned one summer for Tom Burns and the Texas Rangers. I have been with FC Dal- las since 2005. SportsTurf: How did you get started in turf management? the winning field in 2012? Reed: I am constantly tweaking what I do each year; with the SportsTurf: What changes if any are you implementing for extremes in weather conditions in Texas what worked one year may not work best the next. I look back at my records and see what I thought worked great from the pre- vious year's maintenance. I keep doing these things and change areas I think will help improve the quality of the pitch. I attend my State and National conference every year look- ing for new and better ways to pro- vide the best turf for the athletes. ing in the future? Reed: For the majority, multi-sport stadiums are a thing of the past, but multi-en- tertainment stadiums are a thing of the future. More and more sports venues are hosting concerts and other outdoor events that attract large crowds to make money for the organi- zation. Most of the time these events happen during season squeezed between games and leave little time for recovery or resod. It will be our job as turf managers to keep field repair cost to a minimum when possi- ble, depending on the event, and have it safe and ready for play soon after. We will need to plan our maintenance accord- ingly and if the opportunity arises, just know if done cor- rectly and in a timely manner, the field can be saved and ready for play shortly thereafter. ■ 38 SportsTurf | August 2012 the sports turf manager's job chang- SportsTurf: How do you see www.sportsturfonline.com