Managing people is the key to success for this All-Star groundskeeper
21 Jul, 2008 By: Michael Seuffert Athletic Turf NewsThe biggest night of the year was just days away for Tom Nielsen, head groundskeeper at Louisville Slugger Stadium, the home of the AAA Louisville Bats. The stadium was hosting the AAA All-Star Game on July 16, but Nielsen gave no indication of the tremendous amount of work still needed to be done to get the field in perfect shape for the big event.
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Tom Nielsen |
That’s because Nielsen has learned over the years that managing his people is just as —if not more — important than managing his turf.
“A couple of years ago we had an earthquake that shifted the field, and a big mound of clay piled up. Another time, we had a sinkhole open up two days before our home opener,” says Nielsen. “In times like these, I knew I had to stay calm and be the voice of reason. If I was freaking out, how would my crew react? They feed off of that kind of energy. We just have to look at the situation calmly, figure out what to do and go do it.”
“Everyone can learn the grass — it’s learning about communication and managing your crew that you have to understand to be successful in this job.”
So despite the fact that in the days leading up to the All-Star Game, the field was the site of Bats games, Sunday night concerts, and week-long baseball clinics that had more than 150 kids using the field during the mornings, Nielsen stayed cool.
“You just have to adapt to the circumstances: come in a little earlier, do a little more at night,” he says. “At this point of the year, you’re always trying to play catch-up. When it’s this hot, you miss a couple days of watering, it doesn’t take long to start going south.”
“It’s the same with my crew,” Nielsen adds. “The season’s long. You can’t let them get burnt out. You have to be able to read them: know when to push them and know when to pull back. I try to keep them motivated, we try to have fun and when they need time off, whether it’s for a morning or even a whole day, I do what I can to give it to them.”
Under Nielsen’s watchful eye, Slugger Field has been named 2003 Field of the Year for Triple-A Baseball and the 2002 Professional Baseball Diamond of the Year, Sports Turf Management Association.
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The award-winning Slugger Field |
More important to Nielsen is that his former crew members have moved on to run their own departments for AAA ballclubs in Nashville, Toledo, Buffalo and elsewhere.
“I feel like I’m a teacher first and a groundskeeper second,” Nielsen says. “I love working with new guys and feel that after three or four years it’s time for them to move on. You can get too comfortable in one spot and these guys need to go out there, grow and advance their careers.”
“Once I feel guys can handle the management aspects of the job, that’s when I push them to move on. Hopefully when they’re done with me, they still want to keep doing this for a living.”
Nielsen, however, has no plans to go anywhere. Though he’s had offers to join the big leagues, he prefers to stay where he's had a good relationship with the front office and a comfortable life with his family.
“My goal used to be to make it to the majors, but that’s not necessarily my goal anymore,” he says. “It’s really more important to me that I get the respect from management and do the things I need to do. Sure I could maybe make a little more money, but I don’t want to spend the next 10 years of my life trying to prove myself over again.”
As for the actual field, in preparation for the All Star game, Nielsen and his crew did a lot of verticutting and dethatching in the months prior. Last fall, he overseeded his Kentucky Bluegrass with rye to even out the color, which he had never done before. (At the end of the year, the turf will be completely replaced for the first time in the stadium’s 10-year history.)
The crews also had some repair work for the infield, which was really getting beat up from the constant use, but for the most part Nielsen just kept his crews to their normal schedule.
“I always want my field looking good,” he says. “I’d like to think we treat every game like it’s an All-Star game.”
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Some post-game clean up work |
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