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The Bulldogs and Their Coach
Turfgrass Professionals Make Westinghouse Field of Dreams Come True
W
hat happens when turf professionals from Penn State Cooperative Extension, the world of professional sports, and the private sector all team up to work on a community turf project? It results in a special “feel-good” synergy that gets the job done and also has great community impact. Westinghouse Academy, an inner-city high school in Pittsburgh serving Wilkinsburg, Homewood, Point Breeze, East Liberty and Highland Park, is getting a safe new football practice field and green activity space, thanks to the combined efforts of Head Coach Donta Green, Extension Educators Jeff Fowler and Michael White, and Thomas ProTurf contractor Jeremy Thomas, who was able to also enlist the help of Steelers groundskeeper Thomas Goynes. We asked where the vison for this project came from and how this turf power team had come together, and it was an inspiring story (Photo 1).
Photo 1: Jeremy Thomas and crew member Rodger Sargent survey the field.
Photo 2: Work begins
Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization 1451 Peter’s Mountain Road Dauphin, PA 17018-9504 www.KAFMO.org • Email: KAFMO@aol.com 20 Pennsylvania Turfgrass • Winter 2024
The Westinghouse Bulldogs have generated a lot of excitement in Pittsburgh over the last two years. In the words of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, last season, Westinghouse had “a fairy tale season that ended at the doorstep of a state championship.” The Bulldogs (14-1, 4-0) were the first City League school to reach the state finals since Perry High School 25 years ago. Under the charismatic leadership of Coach Donta Green, they were state runner-up in 2022, and Green was quoted as saying, “Our guys are just itching for another shot and another opportunity to do that” this season. According to Jeff Fowler, “Coach has done some amazing things in his two years with the Westinghouse football program.” Donta Green is also the executive director of The Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, a nonprofit vocational training provider dedicated to providing opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment who need additional support to begin their careers. Founded in 2013, the Trade Institute is located in the Homewood community of Pittsburgh. The football team at Westinghouse reflects this demographic -- 65% of the players’ fathers are incarcerated and will have barriers to employment when they re-enter society. And the student athletes who carried the Bulldogs to success last season have not only had to work hard to achieve this excellence, but they have also had multiple barriers to overcome – not the least of which was a practice field that was, like many neglected urban landscapes, run down and treacherous underfoot.
C O N TA C T Linda Kulp, Executive Secretary Phone: 717-497-4154 kulp1451@gmail.com
C O N TA C T Dan Douglas, President Phone: 610-375-8469 x 212 KAFMO@aol.com
