Where Are They Now?

Catching Up with Waddington/Harper Turfgrass Scholarship Winners

Kyle Patterson still recalls his feeling upon winning the Waddington/Harper Turfgrass Scholarship in 2014: “To see that somebody else thought I had a chance to be successful meant more to me than any sort of monetary contribution!” Since 2001, KAFMO has been recognizing outstanding students of sports turf management with a scholarship named in honor of Dr. Donald Waddington and in memory of Dr. John Harper, two pillars of the Penn State turf program. The scholarships are awarded to advance students’ educational potential in the science of turfgrass management. We caught up with Kyle and three other Waddington/Harper Scholarship recipients to find out where their careers have taken them since graduation, and what impact the scholarship had.

Scholarship Impact

Ryan Radcliffe (Penn State 2001), Ben Polimer (Delaware Valley College 2004), Julie Adamski (Penn State 2012), and Kyle Patterson (Penn State 2014) all felt the impact of the scholarship in different ways. For Ryan Radcliffe, supervisor of grounds for the Middlesex Vocational School system, and Julie Adamski, Managing Director for NGAG, tuition assistance was a boon. Adamski adds that it also opened doors for meeting industry professionals. “As a college student it was great to be able to talk to those who have had experience and learn from them,” she recalls. Kyle Patterson, Campus Turf Manager at Towson University, remembers that winning the Waddington/Harper Scholarship was a huge confidence boost. “I used that confidence as a jumping off point post-graduation,” he says. Ben Polimer, who works for the town of Weston, MA, says that the scholarship introduced him to the Sports Turf Chapters of STMA. “Did I know at that point how involved I would become in both my local chapter, NESTMA and STMA? No way!” Polimer is currently the President of NESTMA and received two national awards from STMA in 2014 and 2015.

Why Turf Management?

When asked what originally attracted them to turf management, the two common denominators were sports and the outdoors. Radcliffe recalls that at a very young age he knew he wanted to be a groundskeeper. “I remember watching sporting events on TV not so much for the game but how the fields looked.” Through high school, Polimer worked for his dad taking care of a little league complex in his hometown of Sharon, MA. Patterson wanted to be involved in sports and “upon realizing that the participating side wasn’t going to get me there, I had to find a different avenue.” Adamski loved sports and science and “didn’t want to be in an office all day, every day… being around sports has been a bonus.”

No Two Careers Alike

So what does a turf management career look like after graduation? As it turns out, no two career paths are alike. Polimer has been Field and Grounds Manager for the town of Weston, MA since January 2016. He is responsible for all green space in town: sports turf, lawns, and landscapes around school and municipal buildings. He is also responsible for site work for the school department and project manager for any outdoor projects in town. His favorite thing about the job is the confidence the citizens have in him to make their green space as nice as possible.

Adamski manages the Natural Grass Advisory Group (NGAG), a field testing, education, and advisory company. She says the athlete is the number one priority for any sport and the one thing that has a direct impact on any athlete is the field. She loves being able to make a difference in field safety and performance.

Radcliffe is kept busy with 160 acres to maintain for the five schools in the Middlesex Vocational School system. He is particularly proud of their baseball fields, which host the state championship games. Patterson, who has been at Towson University just over 6 months now, oversees all outdoor athletics facilities (baseball, softball, two grass soccer fields, FieldTurf stadium, a multipurpose field and an in-progress field hockey facility.) Having recently made the jump into college athletics, he says he “absolutely loves trying to juggle the chaos of nine teams using the outdoor facilities throughout the year.” His favorite part of coming to Towson has been the culture. “It’s exciting to see what you can do when the people around you want to see you be successful and are pushing you to be better.”

Tips from the Pros

Anyone considering a career in turfgrass may appreciate tips from the pros’ personal experience. Radcliffe says that in addition to studying turfgrass, the most beneficial thing is on-the-job training. “If it’s on a golf course or a professional field, they will learn a vast amount that they will use for a lifetime. While at Penn State I worked on the Beaver Stadium grounds crew and four summers with the Reading Phillies. Combining book knowledge with the real-life application of working on the fields will make a great professional.”

Polimer urges students to look to the non-golf part of the business, pointing out that sports turf is a growing industry with great people. He also recommends getting involved in professional organizations like KAFMO and NESTMA.

Patterson’s advice to current students is to pick the road you want to travel, whether it be golf, sports turf, or landscape and work at as many levels of that road as you can before you get out of school. The bright lights of professional sports aren’t for everybody, he cautions. “You can be really good at what you do in a different scene. That may be minor league baseball, a parks and rec setting, or college athletics. Find your niche and be the best turf manager you can be.”

Students currently enrolled in an approved turfgrass program at an accredited college or university who have completed a substantial portion of the requirements needed for graduation are encouraged to apply for a Waddington/Harper Turfgrass Scholarship in 2019. For details, please visit http:// www.kafmo.org/scholarships.htm.

Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization

1451 Peter’s Mountain Road

Dauphin, PA 17018-9504

www.KAFMO.org

Email: KAFMO@aol.com

Contact: Linda Kulp, Executive Secretary

Phone: 717-497-4154

kulp1451@gmail.com

Contact: Dan Douglas, President

Phone: 610-375-8469 x 212

KAFMO@aol.com