some types of cool season grasses such as blue-grass. In bluegrasses there is some lateral growth,but not as much as bermudagrass. With the helpof verticutting the same cutting of the "runners"will simulate growth and help form a better rootmass and help to fill in thin spots.

Seed bed preparationVerticutting is a great tool to enhance your

overseeding regiment. The most importantaspect of getting good seed germination is tohave good seed-to-soil contact. In most cases, weare trying to seed into established turf such asover seeding into bermudagrass. With the use ofverticutting, you will open up the turf to allowthe seed to get in touch with the soil and increasethe chance of a successful germination.

When you are trying to seed into thin areas, alight verticutting will loosen the soil to allow forgood seed-to-soil contact. The sports turf man-ager needs to be careful when verticutting thinareas. You must remember that the turf is alreadyweak and any aggressive verticutting could setyou back further.

Early spring green-upFrom my personal observations, verticutting

in early spring (March in the Cincinnati area)will help with green up of cool season grasses.

When you verticut, you remove the old, deadgrass that has been laying there over the winter.Verticutting breaks up the winter derogation andopens the soil up to the warm sun that promotesearlier growth.

Once the soil is opened up to that warmth,the grass starts to grow and thicken up. I haveseen areas that we verticut green up and start togrow 4 weeks earlier then non-verticut areas.

Timing is very important. You have to becareful not to try this too early in the year. Youhave to wait until the heavy frost period is over.If you verticut too early and get a couple weeks ofhard and cold weather, your plants could be introuble and take longer to recover since you haveremoved their protection.

Talk with other sport turf managers aroundyour area and ask their thoughts and techniquesabout verticutting. They can assist you withfinding the proper timing and equipment to dothe job.

Darian Daily is head groundskeeper for PaulBrown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

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Something must have gone right becauseKilkenny Field was chosen the 2007 STMACollege Football Field of the Year.

Fasbender said the region's mild summers andcool, wet conditions the rest of the year makesPoa thrive. "We have a 'see it, kill it' philosophythat has been successful so far. We know we arenever going to 'cure' the field of Poa but we canaddress what is there and hold the line," he said.

"We use kill canes filled with Round-Upwhen we mow and have an aggressive spray pro-gram combining herbicides targeting Poa,"Fasbender said. "We use growth regulators tohelp our bluegrass outcompete it.

"Fertility plays a large role in what we do tostay on top of disease. We've managed to avoidthe horror stories of the design process and haveonly had to make limited curative fungicideapplications in the past 3 years," he said. "Weapply granular fertilizer every 2-4 weeks depend-ing on the season and field conditions. All appsare slow release and include iron in the nutrientpackage."

Fasbender said other facilities in the PacificNorthwest are trying bluegrass. "Oversee ding isone of the challenges we face. We overseed twicea year but because the field is in use so much, wedo it in the winter and summer rather thanspring and fall," he said. He uses turf blanketsafter football season through mid-March to keepthe plants going, and overseeds after spring prac-tice, in mid-May before summer camps begin.

SportsTurf: What's most important piece ofequipment or product in your program?

Fasbender: I have to say that our aerator andtopdresser are the most important pieces ofequipment in our program. Anytime you havefootball players "dancing" around on your turf,you are going to deal with compaction issues. Weaerate as much as we can to relieve the com-paction and topdress lightly to protect thecrowns of the plants. These two pieces are alsoimportant because they help us with our aggres-sive over-seeding program. We over-seed to con-tinually introduce new and better varieties of turfand keep a mix of old and new plants in our sam-ple. We aerate and pick up our cores before seed-ing to create a seedbed and then topdress after toprotect the seed.

ST: What are your biggest challenges andhow do you approach them?

Fasbender: Controlling the Poa annua is ourbiggest challenge and working around the rainyweather and the nearly continuous field use areclose behind:

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FIELD OF THE YEAIt seems that we have more "off-season"

workouts than ever before. College athletics isnow a 12 month commitment for our athletesand it can be a fight just to get our fields the restthey need. Open communications with ourcoaches and their understanding of, and coopera-tion with, what we're striving to accomplish iswhat makes it all work. They realize that we aretrying to provide the best possible surface fortheir athletes.

ST: How do you communicate with coaches?

Fasbender: I think that face to face commu-nication with administrators, athletic directors,coaches and staff is the most import thing asports turf manager can do to develop a success-ful program. Sometimes the one to one connec-tion is not always possible though, and you needto try any means necessary to communicate.

I am very fortunate because our HeadFootball Coach, Mike Bellotti, and I have devel-oped a great working relationship over the years.I understand what he wants to accomplish on the

fields and what he expects, and he values myopinion and appreciates my input and sugges-tions. I attend every football practice to be avail-able for questions, but also so I can see how thefields are being used and how the turfis perform-ing. This practice has gone a long way in gainingour coaching staff's trust. That is something thatI picked up in my time in professional baseball. Ifan infielder gets a bad hop, you want to see exact-ly where it happened, not hear about it secondhand the next day. I connect with all of our

44 July 2008 www.sportsturfonline.com

coaches regularly even if I don't have anythingpressing to talk about. My favorite icebreakertopic is a favorite here in Eugene, the weather.

ST: How do you see the sports turf manager'sjob changing in the future?

Fasbender: I hope to see more people gettingcertified. I know that there are a lot of people whoare eligible, but have not taken the exam yet for avariety of reasons. There are many people in thisindustry that are extremely talented and knowl-edgeable and certification is an important step inyour professional career.

I also think that technology is going to changemore than a few things in the industry. It isastonishing to think about all the advances inequipment, materials, and supplies in the past 10years. Think of what is on the horizon for thenext 10!

ST: What attracted you to a career in sportsturf management?

Fasbender: I grew up in the Chicago area andboth of my parents were baseball fans. My family

would go to White Sox and Cubs games early sothat we could catch batting practice. Of course,once BP was over, the grounds crew took the fieldand I can remember being fascinated by all of thejobs that they were doing.

At home, I was the kid with the whiffle ballfield in the backyard with the perfectly 'mowedgrass and the chalked lines. Fortunately, my par-ents humored my interests as a kid. When it cametime to go to college, I chose the University ofTennessee where my initial major was architec-ture an~graphic design, but I soon learned it wasnot for me. One of my friends suggested that I trysports turf management. I didn't even realize thatwas possible. I switched majors and started work-ing for Bobby Campbell on the university athlet-ic fields and the rest, as they say, is history.

ST: How do you balance work and personallife?

Fasbender: My wife, Liz, is one of the great-est people on the face of the planet and a blessingin my life. She supports me during the busy times

of my year and I support her when things gethectic at school or with her coaching. She teach-es chemistry and coaches]V girls soccer at one ofthe high schools in Eugene. I count my blessingseveryday that I have her as my wife and that shesupports my career in a way that most womenwouldn't. I told her when I first got into thisbusiness that she could tell me to quit at anytimeand that I would find another career path. Shehas never hinted at that and only encouraged mewhen times got tough.

I know it was hard for her to move across thecountry when we took this job at Oregon, but shenever complained and again only encouragedwhat I was doing. Thanks, Ace!

FIELD OF THE YEAR

The STMA Field of the Year Awards Programhas been made possible through the generoussupport of its sponsors. They include CarolinaGreen; Covermaster; Hunter Industries; TuiiaceAthletics/Profile Products; Scotts Turf Seed; andWorld Class Athletic Surfaces.

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SportsTurf 45

John Mascaro's Photo OuizAnswer:from page 19 This area void of grass near

sideline is not actually a prob-lem but an example of a good

field layout coupled with excellentmaintenance practices. As most ofyou know, soccer fields tend to wearout first in the center of the field aswell as at the goal mouths. This light-ed city park in South Florida is noexception to the rule as it gets manyhours of play from immediately afterschool until 10:00 at night as well asall day and into the night on theweekends. However the fields wereconstructed on a fairly flat area thatwas only slightly crowned fordrainage purposes. This allows thefields to be shifted from side to side,spreading the wear out over several

areas. The worn areas shown wereactually in the center of the fieldsbefore the fields were moved. As soonas wear gets to a point that they can-not manage to grow it back in a rea-sonable time, the fields are shifted.The parks staff uses this technique forfootball as well. Proper design cou-pled with the ability and willingnessto move fields allows the turf torecover, even during times ofincreased play.

Thanks to Cliff Abrams, Parks andNatural Resources Foreman for SablePines Park and the City of CoconutCreek,for allowing me to take thisphoto.Bill Tully, Maintenance Technician, isresponsiblefor field layouts.

If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro's Photo Quiz please send it to John Mascaro, 1471 Capital Circle NW, Ste # 13,Tallahassee, FL 32303 or email tojohn@turf-tec.com. If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted willbecome property of Sports Turf magazine and the Sports Turf Managers Association.

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46 July 2008

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Consider. STMABoard service

ach year, STMA presents a "Call forNominations" for STMA voting mem-bers to indicate your interest in boardservice. Please take a moment to con-

sider serving on the STMA Board of Directors, orurging a qualified colleague to consider service.The benefits are many. Through serving on theboard, you'll:

E• Contribute to your professional association.• Be a part of a decision-making body.• Hone your listening, collaborative and other

personal development skills.• Strengthen your leadership abilities.• Make a difference in the strategic direction of

the profession.• Garner respect from your employer, your

peers and your staff.

For 2009, STMA is seeking nominations forDirectors from all voting categories of member-ship. As you may recall, STMA is proposing revi-sions to its Bylaws this fall to the membership. Ifthe membership approves the Bylaws, this will addtwo At-Large Director positions for Board servicefrom any category of voting membership. ThePresident may appoint one of those positions tothe Board; however the other will be placed on theballot-all contingent on the approval of theBylaws.

The Schools K-12, Professional, andCommercial Director positions are definitely upfor election in 2009. These three positions will beelected to two-year terms. If the membership doesnot approve the proposed Bylaws, STMA willkeep a list of those interested in but, ineligible for,board service in 2009 due to their category. Thispool may be used for future elections.

Per the STMA Bylaws, the:Schools K-12 Director must represent the K-

12 membership segment, which is any Category Ior II person who manages sports fields for insti-tutions that provide education to students ingrades Kindergarten through 12.

Professional Director must represent theProfessional membership segment, which is anyCategory I or II person who manages sports fieldsused by professional athletes.

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STMA in ActionCommercial Director (includes consultants, architects, designers, contractors, management

companies, distributors ~nd manufacturers, etc.) This member's company must be engaged in acommercial enterprise providing services and! or products to the sports turf profession, and theboard candidate must be the STMA Commercial Member.

To have your name considered by the Nominations Committee, please fill out theNominations Form (page 49) in this issue, or go to www.STMA.org. Be sure to answer the twobrief questions included on the form. The STMA Nominations Committee encourages you toalso share this form with your peers

STMA adds newawards category

The STMA Field of the Year Awards program has added a new category to replace the nowretired Complex of the Year category. In January 2009, at its 20th Annual Conference andExhibition in San Jose, CA, STMA will award its first Sporting Grounds of the Year atthe professional, college and university, and schools and parks levels. The Awards

Committee simply felt that the pursuit of excellence on one field took precedence over the general-ized facility management aspects of a complex. All previous Complex of the Year winners will right-fully maintain their status as elite among their peers as an STMA Complex of the Year winner butapplications in that category are no longer accepted.

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SportsTurf 47

STMA in ActionThe Field of the Year Application has been

revised to a more user friendly format. Also, theAwards Committee has expanded the number ofphotographs allowed to 25 maximum. This is toallow you opportunities to show your creativityand unique features of your field. You can find theSTMA Field of the Year application atwww.STMA.org.

In establishing the STMA Sporting Groundsof the Year, the Awards Committee has targetedathletic fields which host "unique" sports outsideof STMA:s "Big Four" of football, baseball, soft-ball, soccer. Fields that host field hockey, lacrosse,rugby, cricket, tennis, and horse racing, amongothers, are encouraged to apply. For a field toapply under the new category, it must host the

"unique" sport for a majority of the play on a nat-ural grass playing surface.

The new STMA Sporting Grounds of theYear applicants must follow the same guidelinesand rules as STMA Field of the Year applicants,and winners will receive the same recognition.This recognition includes a plaque, free registra-tion to the STMA Conference in San Jose, $500towards lodging at the conference, and STMAField of the Year Signature merchandise.

The amazing package for each category andlevel winner would not be possible without thesupport of the STMA Awards Program sponsors:Carolina Green; Covermaster, Inc.; HunterIndustries; Scotts Turf-Seed; Turface Athletics; andWorld Class Athletic Surfaces. Please support

these sponsors and let them know that their contri-bution to the association is very much appreciated.

The deadline to submit an application isOctober 15,2008. The Awards Committee sug-gests that you get started on your application bytaking pictures of your field in the off-season tobetter show the transformation of the fieldthroughout the year. Also, be sure to documentunique challenges and solutions that arise duringthe year, so you will be able to "wow!" the com-mittee with your expertise.

Contact STMA special projects managerPatrick Allen at pallen@stma.org or 800.323.3875if you have questions about the new category orthe STMA Field of the Year program. •

48 July 2008 www.sportsturfonline.com

Cut here and fax or mail form (see below)r-- -- - -! •

Zip

Name ---------------------Title ------------------------Facility _

Address _

City _State ~~ _

E-Mail _

Telephone _

Category Representation

List any STMA Committee Service

List any Chapter or Local Association Service

D Academic

D Schools K-12

D Commercial D Higher Education

D Parks and Recreation D Professional

Please ansvver the follovving questions: (350 vvords or less)What qualities vvould you bring to board service?

What is your vision for STMA?

Rebuilding Doc's Dugout

OSHA who?

This photo dates back to a time when applying chemicals toturf was done with a device called a proportioner. With thismethod, one would mix the desired chemical with waterinside a barrel to a high concentration of active ingredient.Then, with the aid of a motor driven or tractor driven com-

pressor, it would force water into the apparatus located above and inside thebarrel. Suction was created with a venturi tube and the mixture of chemicaland water was then hand sprayed over a golf green or sports field surface.

The design shown in the photo is much better than the original designs,as the original proportioners used wooden barrels to hold the chemical mix-ture which were nearly impossible to clean out. This newer design shows astate-of-the-art steel barrel instead. At the time of this photo the golf andsports turf industry was growing, and researchers were finding better andsafer ways to treat for weeds and disease. This photo illustrates how far wehave come with regards to products, their safety, effectiveness, and applica-tion methods.

The STMA Historical Committee met in late November for the firsttime to log and develop the acquired collection of Dr. Kent Kurtz, STMNsfirst executive director. "Doc", as he was admiringly referred to, also served

··Minnesota Chapter STMA: www.mstma.org. :

·MO·KAN Sports Turf Managers Association: :www.mokanstma.com. :······

: ~ebraska Sports Turf Managers Association: :: 1-4425. :·:·····

New England STMA (NESTMA):www.nestma.org.

Sports Turf Managers of New York:www.stmony.org.

50 July 2008

as the association's first Historian, and amassed an amazing collection ofdocument and photographs of the sports turf profession and STMA. Doc'scollection included a kind donation from the estate of turf industry pioneerDr. Fred Grau. In appreciation of Doc's contribution and the generousdonation of the Kurtz family to STMA we will be running a monthlyaccount of the people, places, stories, equipment, and photographs that areimportant to the profession and association .•

JOHN DEERESouthern California Chapter:

www.socalstma.com.

stabil lzer'SOLUTIONS

South Carolina Chapter of STMA:www.scstma.org.

Texas Sports Turf Managers Association:866/897-8621.

Tennessee Valley Sports Turf ManagersAssociation (TVSTMA):

www.tvstma.com. syngenta

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