Not your father’s front lawn: unsung heroes keeping fields fit for play

THEY’RE blamed when something goes wrong and forgotten when things go right, but without turf managers thousands of athletes would be unable to take the field each week.

Sam Edwards always wanted to work in sport, but as a banker, he couldn’t see a way in.

It wasn’t until he toured Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium in Spain that his new path became clear.

“I was watching the mowing pretty closely and I was thinking, ‘Geez, from the start of their mowing to the finishing, it’s amazing what they’re doing’,” Edwards said. “I’ve always loved sport growing up and saw myself in a sporting role but never saw myself actually on the ground, just being part of it and contributing.”

Eager to dive in, Edwards secured himself an apprenticeship at Kardinia Park Stadium before moving to Geelong Grammar School where he now leads a small grounds team.

With 16 hectares of sporting fields to maintain, it’s no small feat.

“We’re a bit of the forgotten people of sport, and we only really get spoken about if it’s looking bad or something’s gone wrong,” he said.

“Usually if we don’t hear anything it means it’s all gone pretty well.”

More complicated than simply cutting grass, Edwards and his team work months in advance to ensure every playing surface is up to scratch.

Weather watching has become an essential part of his daily routine.

“I’m on BoM every day, twice a day. There’s a massive reliance on the weather; I feel like a farmer relying on the rain,” he said.

With cricket starting to wrap up Edwards is already preparing for the football season.

Different sports leave the fields in varying condition, and each demands its own preferred grass type. With matches constantly being played and students needing access, Edwards and his team are tasked with pulling off small grassy miracles each year.

Add in the battering the fields take during non-school use – including the Melbourne Storm’s annual pre-season camp – and there’s never a dull day.

“At the moment we’ve got a summer grass – couch – that will go dormant over winter and will turn brown, so we over-sow with ryegrass at the beginning of April and that becomes the winter surface that football, rugby and soccer play on,” Edwards said.

“We do most of the work ourselves and get contractors in to help top sand it all. It’s a busy time over school holidays. We usually want 21 days to germinate the ryegrass, but we have about nine days, so it takes a lot of love to get it germinated and looking and playing well for the students.”

Edwards has played cricket and football his whole life and said preparations for their fields is especially gratifying. Cricket especially has a place in his heart.

“You start the week off with a blank canvas and by the end it’s something you can be pretty proud of,” he said. “That’s the one thing the groundsmen really do get recognised for, the cricket pitches.

“It’s something I really pride myself on, that it’s a good pitch for batters and bowlers.

“I just want it to be really aesthetically pleasing for the students and parents and players that come along to Geelong Grammar too.”

Five years of training through an apprenticeship, followed by a graduate diploma in sports management – the first of its kind awarded in Australia – has set Edwards up for success.

He’s looking forward to applying his new knowledge to improving his and his team’s work at the school.