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/282941
12 SportsTurf | April 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com S ports fields are a hot commodity and the construction industry that creates and maintains them is as competitive as the sports that play out on them. So when your livelihood depends on building and maintaining those fields, doesn't it makes sense to learn everything you can? Chad Price thinks so. As the owner of Carolina Green Corp., a full-service athletic field construc- tion company in Indian Trail, NC, Price is a strong advocate of remaining informed about the ever-evolving sports facility in- dustry. "A lot of things have continued to im- prove," Price noted. "The equipment, the science behind it, the education for, the training for it, even the associations for it. It just keeps changing." Price has made staying current on technology and techniques his priority, to the point where he holds not one but two certifications related to the sports field in- dustry: Certified Sports Field Manager (CSFM) obtained through the Sports Turf Managers Association, and Certified Field Builder (CFB), from the American Sports Builders Association. While the two certifications differ in focus, both have prerequisites, including in-the-field experience as well as educa- tional and activity requirements. Once all those are satisfied, each certification in- cludes a written exam. Price, who maintains both certifica- tions, said he is glad to have gotten them—and that they continue to reap re- wards for him. "Both certifications have been very helpful professionally and personally as well," he notes. "I will say this about both tests; the material is different, there is a different emphasis on things for each, but both are very fair and thorough examina- tions." The ASBA's Certified Field Builder program includes sev- eral options; builders can elect to gain certification as CFB-N (Certified Field Builder-Natural) indicating knowledge of natural grass fields, or CFB-S (Certified Field Builder-Syn- thetic), for those who concentrate on artificial turf. The CFB designation indicates a knowledge of both types of field. In Price's opinion, while the ability to market his work is enhanced by the dual certifications, the increased benefit is to his customers, as well as other buyers, who can finally feel confident about finding an expert. "It gives us the ability to give assurance to the owner that they will have people out there who know what they're doing. I'm just really happy and excited and thankful that STMA and ASBA offers these." Price gained his CSFM certification approximately 10 years ago. He was delighted to see it offered in a still-develop- ing industry. "I've been in business maybe 27 years, and building fields exclusively for about 23 years. When I started, there was no construction manual; in fact, there was very little written in- formation at all about how to do this or how to do that. There were very few contractors that specialized in it around the country." Colleagues would share information, he noted, but "every- one was trying to learn from one another. I got the CSFM first; it was maybe the second or third year it was offered." It wasn't until a number of years later that he heard rum- blings about ASBA's plans to offer its own certification test, this one for field builders. "Once I heard the CFB test had become available, I ab- solutely wanted to be the first one in that room." The industry had grown, he noted, and a test was sorely needed to help owners find knowledgeable help. "At the time, there were architects who knew how impor- tant it would be to have a qualified contractor, and how much we needed a pre-qualification requirement if someone wanted to bid on a job." Owners, he noted, were not getting fair bids, since many contractors simply did not know all the facts about sports fields, whether synthetic or natural. "You'd be competing for a job against someone who THE PRICE IS RIGHT: Chad's certifications make him an industry leader Facility & Operations | By Mary Helen Sprecher Chad Price, CSFM, CFB