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/30215
F.O.Y. | Atlee High School I also try to encourage those students who participate in the sports that use our fields to take a stronger role in that fields success. They seem to pay extra attention to the little things that affect their sports. That lesson would apply to just about any career they may choose to explore in their future. I also hope they gain an appreciation and understanding of what it takes to manage safe and playable athletic fields. ST: What’s your most valued piece of equipment and why? MORAN: I would have to say that we have three pieces of equip- ment that would qualify as our most valued piece of equipment. Digital camera. It allows us to keep a visual record of our chal- lenges and successes. It typically stays in the utility vehicle so we can take pictures of the fields and their conditions. Every field we man- age provides us with teachable moments, and the camera is a great tool for recording those moments and discussing them in class. When we have success, the camera allows us to share that success with coaches, administrators, and members of the community. Airless line painter: In 2003 we purchased an airless paint ma- chine based on suggestions from STMA members who work in the NFL and NCAA. Their testimonials as to the quality of the results were exactly what we discovered after purchasing the machine. We were able to nearly eliminate our dependence on aerosol cans for marking practice fields and other areas. We also were able to reduce our paint budget significantly because the new machine allowed us to cover twice the distance with a bucket of paint compared to the machine we were previously using. The machine allows us to spray using two hand guns, and that has allowed us to expand our ability to spray graphics and logos on our field. Our previous system was severely limited and the airless sprayer provided us the opportunity to do things that most high schools in our area cannot. Tractors with front end loaders. We are fortunate to have two trac- tors equipped with front end loaders. We use those machines to tow equipment, spread seed and fertilizer, mow, aerate and many other tasks. The tractors alone are incredibly useful, but once we purchased loaders for each of the machines our tractors allowed us to carry out tasks that were nearly impossible before. Moving material, loading topdressing, rough grading, and other tasks are made possible. ST: Are you yet involved in “sustainable” management practices? If so, what are you doing? MORAN: Over the past several years we have explored more and more ways that we can reduce the amount of fertilizers we apply. Through more thorough soil testing, we have been able to re- duce the amount phosphorus we have needed to apply. We have 38 SportsTurf | May 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com