SportsTurf

Q&A with Dr. Grady Miller Questions? Send them to Grady Miller at North Carolina State University, Box 7620, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, or email grady_miller@ncsu.edu Or, send your question to Pamela Sherratt at 202 Kottman Hall, 2001 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210 or sherratt.1@osu.edu Professor, North Carolina State University 50 SportsTurf | July 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com Q : As the head football coach, I get to maintain our high school's athletic fields during the year. I am new to this so I'm looking for whatever advice you can provide. What should I be doing this summer so that our fields are ready for use in the fall? — North Carolina A : While many of our readers have appreciable turfgrass management knowledge, a number of the people that manage sports turf surfaces do so as a second or third job responsibility. These people often have a passion for coaching or an academic subject but approach turfgrass management like I would a dead mouse in a trap — I'll take care of it because I have to, but wished I didn't. I have met a few coaches that are enthusiastic turfgrass managers. More frequently coaches just want to get the basics accomplished so their fi elds are considered above average. Every coach wants a safe fi eld for their athletes. Several school visits I make each year play out like this question. It usually goes much better when I visit with them as school is ending for the year as opposed to a late August visit when there is not enough time to get a management plan in place before the fi eld is needed for fall practice. I should also mention that generally these schools that use coaches for turfgrass managers rarely have much money dedicated for turfgrass maintenance. Money for fi elds is often left to the booster clubs to provide. These clubs often raise money for uniforms and other basic expenses, so there is rarely enough money to go around for everything that is needed for fi eld maintenance. Your fi rst thought may be why I am writing about this question in SportsTurf magazine. The simple answer is so that you can help. These coaches routinely travel to other stadiums. They are almost always avid sports fans. In addition to traveling to other schools with their games, they often attend games played at higher levels to observe and learn more about coaching. So, while they are attending the community college, university, and professional games learning about formations and play calling, they will also take notice of fi eld conditions — your fi eld conditions. Coaches want to be winners. They will look up to winning coaches and emulate them when possible. Just the same, coaches are in total awe when the see well-maintained university and professional sports fi elds. Talented turfgrass managers have a lot to offer these coaches. They know that they may never have the material resources that you have at your disposal but they will appreciate you sharing some of your knowledge and wisdom. Let me get back to the original question. This story reminds me of a Little League coach that used to tell his players, you can't win a game in the fi rst inning, but you most certainly can lose one by digging yourself into a 10- or 12-run hole. The same situation is true with turfgrass management. If fi eld management is approached with a plan that encompasses the entire year, the likelihood the fi eld will perform at its peak is much greater than if the turf manager does nothing all summer and then tries to get a fi eld in shape in August. Summer is the time to work the hardest to ensure the fi eld is in shape for fall season. So, my initial approach is to outline a season-long maintenance plan. My second approach with this inexperienced turfgrass manager was to help him gather people resources. He found me because I had helped out School's out, what now? another coach in the area turn their fi eld around 2 years earlier. That coach passed on my contact information. A season-long maintenance plan is a good start, but he will benefi t from local support (I am a 2-hour drive away). People with knowledge that can easily drop by to help him calibrate a sprayer, identify a weed, loan him an aerifi er, etc. For instance, the coach did not realize he has a great county extension person within a 20-minute drive. He also has one of our state's most prominent sod producers within a 30-minute drive. There are a couple of golf courses in the general area with great superintendents. These folks know chemicals, fertilizers, equipment, turfgrass culture, and other turfgrass managers. I provided contacts for a couple of contractors that aerify and/or spray that are just a couple of towns away. Having competent people nearby with good turfgrass knowledge is so important for a novice turfgrass manager. While cultivating his people resources, the coach needs to increase his technical knowledge and procure additional material resources. The technical knowledge started that day and can continue with his support group as he has questions. Our University has bulletins and website information he can easily access that can help. I also encouraged him to join a STMA group that can provide him more contacts and information. The material resources may be his biggest hurdle to overcome. I suggested he identify one fi eld and make as many improvements as possible, documenting his efforts. He can then take that success story to his athletic director and booster club as evidence of what he can accomplish with additional resources. Next year other coaches will be asking him how he turned his fi elds into "fi elds of dreams."

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