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/543149
www.stma.org August 2015 | SportsTurf 7 Allen Johnson, CSFM. johnsona@packers.com Direct Mail List Sales MeritDirect, Jim Scova Phone: (914) 368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com Subscription Services Phone: (845) 856-2229 Fax: (847) 763-9569 customerservice@specialtyim.com Reprints Robin Cooper rcooper@specialtyim.com Group Publisher David Voll dvoll@epgmediallc.com Account Representatives: Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager - East Phone: (954) 964-8676 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager - Mid-West Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager - West Phone: (248) 731-7596 lpalmer@specialtyim.com SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by EPG Media & Specialty Information at 75 Pike Street, Port Jervis, NY 12271. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. 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 sub- scriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076- 7823. Phone: (847) 763-9565. Fax: (847) 763-9569. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Port Jervis, NY and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2015, SportsTurf. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form with- out the written permission of the publisher. A ugust brings some of our nation's hottest temperatures. With that in mind, I thought it would be appropriate to write about the one thing that brings so much job satisfaction to us in the sports field management profession: growing natural grass. If you are like me, the sight of newly emerging seedlings evokes a feeling of excitement. Through a combination of Mother Nature and your expert manage- ment decisions, eventually those young, fragile plants will form a dense natural playing surface. When maintained to your high standards and the final touches are applied, it will resemble everything you have put into it. It will be a reflec- tion of you and your crew. When you've performed your job, and remember the struggles you've overcome, you'll feel the sense of satisfaction that many jobs in our society can't provide. There are many careers that pay a higher salary, carry a higher social stand- ing, and offer a climate-controlled office, but not many provide the sense of accom- plishment that we in this profession receive from growing and creating the perfect playing surface on which athletes of all ages compete. Many spectators of sports played on natural grass surfaces incorrectly view tufts of grass being torn away and coming loose as a negative aspect of these playing surfaces. What many fail to realize, how- ever, is that the ability of a natural grass field to give and flex under the stress of the athletes is exactly what makes a good natural grass surface one of the safest to play on. Throughout my career I can recount the many times I've heard com- ments on television from the broadcast booth: "It looks like the field is tearing up." My first thought is always, "So what, that is what is supposed to happen." It presents another opportunity for us to educate on this issue. I often say, "Would you rather have the field give and tear a little or the athlete's knees break?" The ability of a natural grass field to give way to a certain point is what makes having a well cared for natural grass field one of the safest choices. Another benefit of a natural grass playing surface is the effect is has on the micro-climate the athletes are competing in. Do you remember playing sports as a kid, wiping the sweat from your eyes, anx- iously awaiting the coach to call everyone in for a water break? Athletic performance elevates our body heat. The harder we push ourselves, the more we heat up, but if we are performing our sport on a natu- ral grass field, we will experience much cooler temperatures than if we were not. Who wouldn't want their child to have the best possible environment to perform in? Aren't sports about pushing ourselves to be the best that we can be? For all of the job satisfaction it pro- vides, for the safety it brings, and the positive climatic impact it has on the athletic experience, there's nothing cooler than natural grass. ■ ST PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE THERE'S NOTHING COOLER THAN NATURAL GRASS