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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/134296
From the Sidelines Eric Schroder Editorial Director SportsTurf eschroder@specialtyim.com 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone 847-720-5600 Fax 847-720-5601 717-805-4197 Ripken Experience includes quality fields M Y FIRST "RIPKEN EXPERIENCE" was at STMA's infamous San Antonio "Ice" Conference in 2007 when severe ice storms affected a large swath of North America and resulted in at least 85 deaths and caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose power. I had set up an interview with Cal Ripken, Jr., before his appearance at the Jacobsen booth on the trade show floor, and because of flight cancellations arrived in Texas with just enough time to get to his hotel suite after a mad dash through the airport. I ended up doing the interview in the back of a Lincoln Town Car, sitting in between the former Baltimore Oriole "Iron Man" and the Jake PR woman, as we drove from his hotel to the convention center. My first question was, "Who will introduce you when you are inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer?" When he replied, "The Pro Football Hall of Fame does that," I could feel the PR woman beside me begin to squirm. But I was at my self-deprecating best and recovered, and Ripken continued to be gracious as we walked through a back entrance and onto the show floor, feeling everyone's eyes on the 6'4" icon and yes, me, to whom he was giving the time of day. My second "Ripken Experience" was last month when my 13-year-old son, Max, played in the Armed Forces Day tournament at the Ripken Baseball complex in Aberdeen, MD. The Ripken Experience, its formal name, is home to youth camps and tournaments and consists of a youthsized version of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and youth-sized replicas of Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Stadium, and the old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, which is 35 miles south of Aberdeen. While there I met up with Patrick Coakley, CSFM, the facility's sports turf superintendent, who took a few minutes out of his busy Saturday to meet us. Coakley, known as "Irish" to many STMA members, said his nickname is so prevalent that some fellow employees at Ripken don't know his real name. During the 15 minutes or so we chatted, Coakley's walkie-talkie squawked five or six times with questions and updates from his mostly student crew. When we parted I watched him jog away and realized that the time he'd given me was time he really should have been doing something else! PATRICK "IRISH" COAKLEY, CSFM, Coakley said currently he is working on determinleft, and Max Schroder. Irish asked that we ing the budget numbers of what it will cost to get to, report the 13-year-old is not taller than him and maintain, the natural turf fields at the complex but rather was posing uphill. at a "professional level," which is his goal as well as that of his boss—Cal Ripken, Jr. Irish said he works directly and regularly with Ripken on field maintenance issues and that the former infielder understands well what it takes to get a field into professional condition. Max and his teammates had heard that their Hall of Fame host regularly shows up at tournaments and practice sessions; I was skeptical, knowing what a busy schedule he must have, but we learned Saturday night that we had just missed a visit by the big man by a few minutes that day. n 6 SportsTurf | June 2013 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Managers Association President: James Michael Goatley, Jr., Ph.D. Immediate Past President: Troy Smith, CSFM President-Elect: Martin K. Kaufman, CSFM Secretary/Treasurer: David Pinsonneault, CSFM, CPRP Vice-President Commercial: Rene Asprion Professional Facilities: Allen Johnson, CSFM Academic: Jeffrey Fowler Parks & Recreation: Debra Kneeshaw Higher Education: Jeffrey Salmond, CSFM K-12: Michael Tarantino, CSFM Commercial: James Graff At Large: Jay Warnick, CSFM At Large: Ron Hostick, CSFM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Kim Heck STMA Office 805 New Hampshire Suite E Lawrence, Ks 66044 Phone 800-323-3875 Fax 800-366-0391 Email STMAinfo@STMA.org www.STMA.org Editorial EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Eric Schroder TECHNICAL EDITOR Dr. James Brosnan ART DIRECTOR Brian Snook PRODUCTION MANAGER Karen Kalinyak STMA Editorial Communications Committee Jim Cornelius, CSFM, Jason Henderson, PhD, Paul Hollis, Clayton Hubbs, Joshua McPherson, CSFM, Brad Park, David Schlotthauer, & Grant Spear SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by Specialty Information Media at 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. For subscription information and requests, call Subscription Services at (845) 856-2229. Subscription rates: 1 year, $40 US & Poss.; 2 years, $65 US & Poss.; 1 year, $65 Canada/Foreign Surface, 1 year, $130 Airmail. All subscriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. Phone: (845) 856-2229. Fax: (845) 856-5822. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Park Ridge, IL and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2013, SportsTurf. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form without the written permission of the publisher. www.sportsturfonline.com