SPRING 2020
SIDELINES Providing Education and Training for Safer and Healthier Sports Turf Facilties
Texas Sports Turf Managers Association TXSTMA@GMAIL.COM
WWW.TXSTMA.ORG
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Howdy TXSTMA members, Welcome to a time in this world where we have no idea what to expect. I never thought in a million years that sports would shut down and come to a complete halt. I know most turf managers have said I sure wish they would stay off the field, and now that we are getting it we want them back. With the unknown and inability to join in groups of more than ten, or two if you are on shelter in place, we will have to suspend our field days and events for the time being. I want to thank everyone that has worked or donated money to the organization for our field days that we were planning. Once we receive the all clear and can get back in our facilities, we will work on scheduling new events. On March 11th, we had a great field day at Retama Park in San Antonino. I want to thank James Rodriguez for the use of his facility and letting us see how he preps his facility for an event. Everyone in attendance got to see another side of Turf management that we don’t usually think about. He has a very big challenge in that he has about 400 head coaches and much bigger athletes. Thank you to all our vendors that came out and supported the event. We saw some great equipment and had a nice trade show. I also want to thank Dr. Chase Straw for joining us and introducing himself to the group. Dr. Straw is new to Texas A&M and taking over for Dr. Richard White on campus. Many of us are not sure when we will get our athletes back, but we have to prep the best that we can so that our fields are ready. Like Jeremy King and I always joke about, the grass doesn’t know it’s Sunday, and right now it doesn’t know we are shut down. During this down time, I hope you will reevaluate your cultural practices and see what improvements you can make. If you have the funds available, maybe reach out to members and reps and see what you can do on your field. Even if you can’t do the whole field, spot treatments can make major improvements. If you have wanted to try something on your field, now is the best time. We all have large research plots and a few weeks to take advantage of that. I once listened to a talk titled “In God We trust, All Others Bring Data.” Most of our employers will want to see data when it comes to spending money on major projects. If you can work on one field, or a portion, and show the results, then you might be able to do more later. Take plenty of before and after pictures and show them your results. Take the time to see how spraying out your rye grass works, or how aerification might help wear spots. Now is the time to try out any ideas you have had about how to improve your field. Lastly, take the time to button up all the little things that you often don’t have time to do. Wash out your lips and edge everything up, so that when sports return you are ahead of the game.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE If you are looking for resources or ideas on what you can do on your field, there are plenty of resources on STMA or the TXSTMA web site. National President Jimmy Simpson CSFM has sent out a great check list to use on your facility as we enter these changing times. For those that are reporting to work and are in need of something to do, now is the time to read up on cultural practices. Also, due to the COVID-19, the Texas Department of Ag commissioner has released new online guidelines allowing licensed pesticide applicators to receiveCEU’s online. Visit @txextension or learn about classes on the Texas A&M Agrilife website at Agrilifelearn.tamu.edu. During this time of uncertainty, everyone stay safe and please reach out if you have any questions about your facility. We are all here to help each other out and to get sports back to being played in our great state. Sincerely, Weston Floyd wfloyd@athletics.utexas.edu
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2020 MEMBERSHIP Whether this will be your first year or 30th year, we want you to be part of the Texas Sports Turf Managers Association in 2020. Texas STMA provides its members several opportunities throughout the year to network, share ideas, learn the latest research, and hear from top experts in the industry. Held at selected locations around the state, our events allow each member the chance to gain a better understanding of the sports turf manager's role in ensuring facility users have a safe and healthy sports turf to play on. These opportunities include: Regional Educational Field Days and Workshops Special Facility Tours Annual Meeting & Luncheon held in conjunction with the Texas Turfgrass Conference Vendor Exhibits Equipment Demonstrations Membership is very affordable with different plans depending on your role in the industry. Click below to learn more and sign up. If you have already joined for 2020, thank you for your support and please disregard this message.
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RETAMA FIELD DAY
Our members got the chance to listen to Dr. Straw of Texas A&M talk about his research and upcoming goals at his new position. We look forward to seeing him and hearing more at our future field days. James Rodriguez toured us through Retama Park and explained how his crew manages the dirt and grass track for their athletes. We really appreciate all the great vendors that came down to support our association and members. We want to continue building a turf grass community in areas throughout the state.
FIELD DAY SPONSORS
In this time of such uncertainty, we are all affected in one way or another by the issue before us. As we struggle to find some sense of normalcy in the ever changing response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the one sense of solace for us all is our athletic fields and facilities. A little over a week ago, Past President Jody Gill, CSFM sent me a note about the possibility of complete facility closures forcing us to walk away from our work. This was very forward thinking at the time, and I would like to thank him for bringing up that concern when he did. As time has progressed, we are finding that more and more of us are being asked to walk away from our fields and facilities each day. I wanted to share five things that our team used when we were asked to work from home in hopes that it may help you with preparing your fields for at least a few weeks with very little maintenance time. Its OK to Let Go 5 Small Things That May Make Walking Away from Our Fields a Little Easier 1. Safety - Walk all your fields and look for any safety-related items. Record your walk and repair any items you find. Even though we are not at work, citizens or others may still use the fields while we are away. The STMA’sPlaying Conditions Index can be found here and is a fantastic tool for recording your safety walks. 2. Use of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) - Look at using the PGRs to reduce the plants’ vertical growth, water use, and fertilizer needs. 3. Mowing Height - Consider raising the mowing height which can reduce the need for mowing. Follow the 1/3 rule when mowing to prevent plant injury. This will be very important as we look to bring fields back to normal after the outbreak is over, and it is also essential to maintaining plant health. 4. Fertilization - Look at using a pre-emergent for weed control as well as slow release fertilizers that will provide the plant with nutrition without pushing unwanted vegetative growth. 5. Irrigation - Look to smart controllers to help with maintaining proper moisture in the soils. Without the smart controllers, local weather services can provide Evapotranspiration (ET) rates daily so you can judge the amount of water the plants have been using and provide an irrigation cycle if necessary. Another option is to make sure that your irrigation controller is set to run your current program and have a rain sensor installed that will help monitor rainfall and can automatically cut off the cycle if rain is present. Times have undoubtedly changed, but your passion, energy and efforts will shine through as they always have. In this time of uncertainty, remain confident that you are the expert of your fields and facilities, and you know what is best for them. Use that knowledge to find solutions to that will allow you to comply with the request to walk away and still do the best you can to protect your fields and the safety of the end users. This organization is here to support you and there are many resources in our Sports Field Management Institute to as it relates to fields and even personal growth. You have access to these through your STMA membership. Please reach out to STMA if there is anything, we can do to help you moving forward. Sincerely, STMA President Jimmy Simpson, CSFM Jimmy.Simpson@townofcary.org
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2020 UPCOMING EVENTS It is important for us to continue our Field Days to help bring our members together through education and networking. At this moment we can’t say when our next event will be, but we are working on venue locations so we are prepared when this health crisis passes. Here‘s a few locations we are looking at as possibilities for future field days: UTA AT&T, Globe Life Rice University Where would you like to visit? Email us to recommend a venue or to offer your site for an upcoming event.
Article written by Pioneer Athletics
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2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Executive Directors: President: Weston Floyd. University of Texas at Austin. wfloyd@athletics.utexas.edu Past President: Troy Crawford. Moneygram Soccer Park. tcrawford@fcdallas.com President Elect: Russell Coe. Tri-Tex Grass. Russell@tritexgrass.com Treasurer: Nick McKenna, CSFM. Texas A&M University. nmckenna@athletics.tamu.edu 1st Commercial Vice President: Jeff Kadlec. GLK Turf Solutions. jeff.kadlec@glkturfsolutions.com 2nd Commercial Vice President: Greg Carroll. Irrigators Supply. greg@irrigators-supply.net Chapter Executive: Benjamin Bauer. txstma@gmail..com. 614-581-6013 Committee Directors: Advertising: Mike Estlinbaum. Ewing Irrigation. Mestlinbaum@ewingirrigation.com Communication Committee: Dan Bergstrom, CSFM. BBVA Compass Stadium. dbergstrom@bbvacompassstadium.com
Membership: Justin Kupper. Pioneer Athletics. jkupper@pioneerathletics.com Scholarship: Kevin Hansen. Houston Texans. kevinhansen09@gmail.com Region I (DFW): Andrew Siegel. Texas Christian University. a ndysiegs@gmail.com Region II (Austin/San Antonio): Jordan Vasques. The Circuit. jordan.vasquez@thecircuit.com Region III (Houston): Brad Finn. Rice University. bmfturf@gmail.com