Sports Turf Manager Association

Free Recruiting Help!
The STMA Employment Board at Conference is the Solution
Be sure to stop by the Employment Board near the registration counter at the STMA Conference next month where you will be able to view job openings. For those who have open positions for crew, assistants, interns, and salespeople, send your position description to STMAinfo@sportsturfmanager.org by Jan. 6. We’ll post them at the conference so they can be seen by hundreds of potential applicants. You may even be able to arrange a brief interview with those interested. If you will be changing jobs soon, be certain your employer knows that this free posting service is available.

Room Sale -- $135, until Dec. 14.
STMA is pleased to bring you hotel accommodations at conference for $135 per night at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center. The non-conference rate at the hotel in January typically averages $147 per night. Don’t delay. Make your reservations now to be certain there is availability. Call 407-939-1020, and ask for the STMA rate. The rate will be honored Jan. 12 through Jan. 26 so that you can bring your family before or after the conference for a fabulous Disney vacation. However, you must book your room by Dec. 14 to take advantage of this special rate. For students, STMA has a block of rooms at the nearby All Star Hotel for $79, which also must be booked by Dec. 14.

More than a Pretty Face…
Look for the newly redesigned and refocused SportsTurf Magazine, which will debut in January. This process has been underway for the past eight months with its goal to make the magazine a more valuable resource to you. We’re confident that inside you will find more information, research, peer-authored articles, relevant features, new products and technology, and a bit of entertainment! We think you’ll like the change in size, which will allow for easier storage and on-the-go reading. Delivery timing has also changed slightly. The new SportsTurf will be on your desks the third week of the month, rather than the first week.

$200 Available to Every STMA Chapter
Any chapter that sends at least one Chapter Officer to the Chapter Officer Training Session, which will be held on Tues., Jan. 17, 4 to 8 p.m. during the annual STMA Conference, will receive $200 to help fund one person’s stay. Each chapter can send as many officers as it wants. No paperwork will be required — any officer attending will just sign in at the session, and STMA will send that chapter a $200 check after conference. Those attending will learn valuable ideas and strategies to strengthen their local chapter. Topics that will be addressed include:

• Strengthening Your Chapter’s Membership: new members, retention, and member benefits.
• When do You Need to Hire an Executive Secretary?
• Maximizing Fundraisers and Special Events
• Benefits of being an STMA Affiliated Chapter
• Chapter resources - What resources does your chapter need? What best practices can you share?
• Would your chapter members benefit from STMA-sponsored regional conferences?

Effective written communication in the workplace will position you as a professional to your peers, your employer and your staff. To extend that recognition to a broader audience, consider writing articles for your chapter newsletter, regional turf publication or the STMA SPORTSTURF Magazine. You have excellent experiences to share about your work and help others learn.

Use these five easy tips to help you put together the right message for strong writing.

5 Tips to Write it Right
1) Use the three “S” structure. Keep your sentences Simple, Short and Succinct. Shorter sentences are easier to read and understand.

2) Use “Active” voice rather than passive. Better - Ex: Our field management program uses IPM to provide healthy turf and safe playing conditions. Not as good : Ex: IPM was used as a management program to provide healthy turf and safe playing conditions.

3) When possible, use “Action” verbs, which communicate authority, a solution orientation, and allow you to highlight accomplishments.
40 verbs for stronger writing include : Accomplish, Achieve, Advise, Analyze, Complete, Control, Create, Conduct, Design, Develop, Direct, Evaluate, Execute, Facilitate, Generate, Identify, Implement, Improve, Increase, Innovate, Introduce, Launch, Manage, Monitor, Negotiate, Organized, Overhaul, Plan, Prepare, Prioritize, Recommend, Research, Resolve, Restructure, Specify, Streamline, Strengthen, Supervise, Train, Upgrade.

4) Write down the three specific messages you want to communicate through your writing at the top of your document. Three is a magic number. People can remember and comprehend messages and ideas in groups of three. Make certain that each sentence you write supports one of the messages, and that you are not including miscellaneous, non essential information. Be sure to delete your outline before you send your document.

5) Set your memo, article or other written communication aside for at least an hour -- a day if possible. Go back and reread it to catch errors in spelling and grammar and rework weak sentences.

Many types of root zone constructions exist for all levels of play on sports turf areas from recreational fields to professional stadiums to thoroughbred racetracks. The expected level of use and subsequent maintenance resources and management requirements should drive the decision as to the type of root zone system constructed at a given site. Levels of use can be categorized into two types: frequency of use and intensity of use. These levels of use and the performance expectations of the installation determine to a large extent the soil engineering principles that are most applicable to the field’s design.

Levels of Use:

Frequency of use (use-frequency) can be evaluated as either total hours of play in a given cycle or by the hours of play clustered at certain time intervals within a cycle. For example, two fields can each have 20 hours of use in a 7-day cycle but if the one field has a high proportion of its usage time (say 14 of the 20 hours) clustered around day 6 and 7 of the cycle, it will have a different type of wear than if the field is used in equal time increments spread across each day of the cycle.

Intensity of use (use-intensity) factors include the level of competitiveness and number of hours per event, and therefore total stress level per event on the field. Larger, more competitive athletes apply higher stress loads on a playing surface. However, lower competitive levels will tend to have wear patterns clustered around the center of the field while higher competitive levels will have wear stresses more widely distributed across the field. The relative importance to a facility of use-frequency versus use-intensity is an extremely important factor in root zone system design.

Soil Design Types:

Sports turf root zone constructions may be placed into four basic categorizes: soil based, sand modified, sand-amended, or sand based fields. Each type of field design has its own particular strengths and subsequent limitations.

SOIL BASED DESIGNS

Soil-based fields primarily refer to field constructions from native-type soil material. This type of native soil material can refer to either on-site top soil or imported soil. Generally speaking, we think of soil based fields as loamy textures and finer. Sands and loamy sands, while they may be natural native soils, are generally thought of as sand based or sand-amended fields.

In general, soil based fields may have certain advantages over other types of constructions. Soil based fields have higher water and nutrient holding capacity and generally have higher use-frequency capacities. Soil-based fields generally provide a better growth media than other field design types. However, the effect of compaction can rapidly rank these field designs inferior to the other field design types.

Soil-based fields have the greatest potential for high soil shear strength characteristics if maintained in a non-compacted, well drained and well aerated state. In an uncompacted state, these fields will provide for excellent traction and playability. They are however, the type of root zone system most prone to compaction especially when its use capacity is exceeded in terms of either frequency or intensity. Soil-based constructions also have the greatest limitations to play over wide ranging moisture and environmental conditions. Soil root zones will deteriorate rapidly if played on in conditions of excessive soil moisture levels.

At high soil moisture contents the plasticity characteristics of the soil can be nullified as the soil behaves more like a liquid. When this occurs, soil material often is ‘pumped’ to the surface and the entire field is prone to surface rutting and tracking. Under these conditions, the natural soil structural integrity is rapidly lost and cannot easily be restored. In most cases, it can never be restored without taking the field out of play and performing extensive renovation.

SAND MODIFIED AND SAND AMENDED DESIGNS

Sand modified root zones are those native soil based fields that have been modified on site by additions of sand. Sand is normally added through topdressing programs alone or in combination with aeration practices. As sand is added to many native or plastic type soil materials, the sand will increase the internal friction of the soil somewhat (decrease deformability). As more sand is added, the compaction resistance of the root zone will increase due to increasing internal friction. However, sand additions also decrease the plasticity of soil materials. If a soil does not contain a high enough sand proportion, the resulting root zone will neither exhibit significant compaction resistance nor desirable plasticity characteristics. Caution must be exercised with the use of a sand modification program as the end result could make a problem worse rather than better. Of course, sand selection greatly impacts the resulting soil properties as well.

Enhancement of soil aeration and drainage would not be expected as a direct effect of sand additions. The enhanced aeration and drainage characteristics of a sand modified system would be due to a longer period of time that the soil remains non-compacted. Actual increases in aeration and drainage characteristics would not be expected until sand proportions exceed a threshold proportion. Threshold proportions of sand and soil mixtures typically require 60% or more sand on a volume basis. Significant increases in drainage and aeration properties are not typically observed until sand volume proportions exceed 80% or more depending upon the particle size distribution of the sand and soil components.

Sand amended root zones are those that have native soils mixed with sand during complete renovation or new field construction. To ensure proper and thorough mixing of the sand and soil components, off site mixing and blending with a screw or drum type self-contained blender should be practiced over an on site blending process that utilizes roto tilling or rotary cultivation. New blending equipment such as the Net-avator blender (distributed by Multi-Use Designs, Inc.) has slow speed reverse-tine tilling and shows good promise as a method for acceptable on-site blending of soils.

The performance of these types of constructions vary widely depending upon the various proportions of sand and soil as well as the relative particle size distribution of each of the components. The ratio of silt to clay and the mineralogy of the silt and clay fractions is an important design consideration. Organic components are sometime included as part of the mixture. Adequate performance of these constructions require considerable soil science expertise to ensure long-term success. An experienced and qualified sports turf agronomist should be consulted when considering these design specifications.

SAND-BASED DESIGNS

Sand-based root zone constructions can be expensive but may provide a greater performance potential. As such, they often receive the most recognition as a ‘desirable’ athletic field construction. Sand-based root zones do generally have a much higher use-intensity than do other types of root zone constructions. Sand-based systems however, because of their granular make-up and lack of plasticity, do not necessarily have the highest use-frequency. While a soil-based root zone system can have dramatically higher use-frequency over sand-based systems, a sand-based system will perform over widely ranging and highly variable weather conditions. This includes live play even under severe and intense rainfall events. A soil-based system would deteriorate rapidly under the same severe conditions.

A well designed and constructed sand-based field will provide a root zone that has high aeration and drainage rates. The higher rates of aeration and drainage in sands are due to a greater proportion of macroporosity. This high macroporosity also results in reduced microporosity, and likewise these root zones have reduced moisture retention and therefore if not managed correctly, can be droughty.

Sand-base root zones are commonly composed of low reactivity silicate minerals such as quartz. This inherent low reactivity results in a material that has a low buffering capacity. This low buffering capacity is exhibited both as low cation exchange capacity (CEC) and a soil system that is subject to vast and rapid soil chemical changes. To counter these effects, an organic amendment is often added. It should be noted however, that organic constituents vary widely as to their physical and chemical characteristics and therefore the performance characteristics of the resulting blend can vary widely.

To counter the effects of inherent droughtiness in sands, sand-based systems with an underlying layer of gravel have been employed. The ‘USGA’ specifications for putting green construction is the most widely recognized gravel underdrain design. A gravel (coarser) layer underlying a sand (finer) layer will impede drainage under non-ponded (unsaturated) conditions. This impedance of water movement effectively increases the water holding capacity of the root zone. The larger the contrast in pore sizes between the coarser layer and the overlying finer textured layer, the more water that the root zone will retain. The danger then is having too large of particle size contrast or too shallow of root zone depth such that much, or nearly all, of the root zone stays excessively wet.

Excessive wetness within the root zone profile may result in the inducement of anaerobic and reduced conditions in the profile and create an environment inconducive to turf growth, health and development. One signal of excessively wet conditions in a sand-based system is the production of excessive thatch in sod-forming grasses or elevated crowns in bunch-type grasses. While extensive and often drastic cultural techniques are employed to reduce thatch under these conditions, proper aeration and drainage in the root zone would eliminate the production of the excessive thatch. Black layer is another phenomana that can occur in a sand-based root zone design due to excessive moisture. The excessive moisture leading to black layer formation can be due to either an over saturated gravel underdrain design or from layer features that can develop over time in poorly constructed/designed and or poorly maintained sand-based fields.

To ensure that excessively wet and reduced sand-based root zones are not constructed, careful design and construction methodologies must be employed. While many root zone construction specification methods have been used and promoted, a new generation of sand-based root zone design specifications are now available for not only sand-based, but also sand-amended, sand-modified and soil-based constructions. Even the best sand-based constructions of the past have experienced poor performance following a period of relatively high superior performance. This period of good performance following construction is often termed the honeymoon period. Following this honeymoon period, the performance can rapidly and drastically deteriorate. The length of these honeymoon periods is highly variable but often last three to five years but may be less. Remedial efforts on these facilities often results in extensive renovation or complete reconstruction. To avoid these excessive costs and practices, proper root zone design along with testing and QC management during construction should be employed by a qualified sports turf agronomist.

ROOT ZONE AMENDMENTS FOR SAND-BASED CONSTRUSTIONS

Many amendments have been used and marketed to improve the performance of the different types of root zone constructions. These amendments vary from natural and synthetic organics to mined iorganic minerals and various other synthetic materials. In the past seven to eight years, many new synthetic materials have been introduced to improve the physical and mechanical performance of sports turf root zones.
A sand-based field offers the greatest flexibility in terms of providing an all weather playing surface. The down side to these systems is that poor soil plasticity characteristics may create situations where these constructions cannot meet overall performance expectations. The use of synthetic fiber reinforcement may significantly increase the mechanical stability of sand-based constructions. Fibers, grids, meshes and fabrics have all been utilized as an aid in increasing the stability of sand-based constructions. While many of these materials do provide for greater stability, they may also serve simply to stabilize the sand once it becomes compacted. Fabric layers may also increase stability somewhat but also create a potential problem by introducing a ‘shear plane’. A shear plane can be detrimental because while overall stability is increased, when failure of shear does occur the failure event can be sudden and severe. In other words, the field may be more stable overall but when playing forces exceed the stability limits, the field can give way rapidly with sever divoting. The greatest potential benefit with synthetic materials for root zone stabilization has been derived from those synthetic products that provide a dynamic interlock system. Dynamic interlock spreads the applied forces over a larger volume of the soil profile. Dynamic interlock (as opposed to static interlock) also provides a characteristic ‘rebound’ effect in that the interlocked soil complex attempts to resume its original (less compacted) state following removal of the loading force.

Other amendments are promoted for their effects at modifying soil moisture and soil chemical properties. Various internally porous amendments have been utilized to improve moisture relations within sand-based root zones. These internally porous materials include such things as diatomaceous earth and calcined/vitrified clay minerals. Amendments utilized to modify chemical characteristics of sand-based constructions include small additions of soil and/or organic matter (such as peat or various composts). Of course, these materials also affect the soil retention properties of the soil profile as well. Zeolitic minerals have also been used to improve the nutrient retention properties of sand-based root zones. The mechanical stability of amending materials should be considered before employing them in a sand-based root zone construction. Many materials have the potential of fracturing into finer sizes within the profile under traffic stress. Once fractured into smaller particles, these materials can be prone to migration and subsequent detrimental layering effects.

CONCLUSION

Whatever root zone design specification method is employed in root zone construction and establishment, a qualified sports turf agronomist can increase the likelihood of a successful and satisfactory sports turf installation. The design and type of sports turf root zone construction should be determined by the type of competition that is expected on the field, the frequency of use, the maintenance expertise and maintenance budget expected, and the turf quality and playability expectations of the owner and user(s).

Roger Bossard – the White Sox’s Winning Ground’s Keeper

Little is known about the early ground keepers except that they worked long and hard days and until quite recently didn't have much to work with in terms of grasses, products, supplies and equipment. These early grounds man learned their trade from "trial and error" and expanded upon their successes and failures. There were no formal courses or classes available to them and even if there had been the long working days and demands of the facility took most of their waking hours. In the early years many of the ground keepers came into the position by working their way up from a clubhouse boy like Roy "cotton" Bogren of the Chicago Cubs. Bogren worked under groundskeeper, Bob Dorr, for many years and then inherited the job upon Dorr's retirement. When Bogren retired the position was passed on to understudy, Frank Capperelli, under the guidance of Lubie Veal, who was brought over from Cincinnati to become the Assistant Stadium Operations Director. Lubie is now retired and works with the minor league ball parks. In the old days ball parks like Wrigley Field were used much like stadiums today for multi-purpose events. During World War II a women's softball league was one of the major attractions at Wrigley Field, which also included the home field for the Chicago Bears for many years. Wrigley Field has been the site of soccer, circuses, pro wrestling and boxing and winter wonderlands with skiing and ice skating on the field.(Chicago Cubs, vol 3, no. 4 1984). Likewise, Chicago's Comiskey Park hosted soccer, the Chicago Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals), rock concerts, demolition derbies and of course the Chicago White Sox.

Emergence of the Groundskeeper

The grounds keeping profession gained impetus during the late 1930's and during the1940's and 1950's under the tutelage of Emil Bossard, head groundskeeper, at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Emil Bossard had been working as a groundskeeper at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, when he was summoned to Cleveland to take over the baseball field operations and maintenance. Emil Bossard had three sons who also became groundskeepers, two, Harold and Marshall, remained at Cleveland to take over when Emil retired and the other, Gene, went to Chicago to take over the duties at Comiskey Park. Harold Bossard had a son, Brian, who was the Head Groundskeeper at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium ( before Steve Wightman) and left San Diego to take over the duties at Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, Brian died suddenly in 1991 leaving his cousin, Roger Bossard, the son of Gene Bossard, as the sole, surviving, Third Generation Groundskeeper in the Bossard family. Roger who is currently the head groundskeeper at Us Cellular Field in Chicago began working for his father, Gene, in 1967. When Gene retired in 1983. Roger took over the reigns as Head Groundskeeper.

Many fine individuals were trained in Cleveland by Emil Bossard and went on to accomplish successful careers. The “Emil Bossard School of Grounds- keeping” was the only training available at that time for the care of baseball fields. George Toma who was been the head groundskeeper at Kansas City came from the Emil Bossard School of groundskeepers. The Santarone's (Baltimore), Mahoney's (Boston), Bossard's (Cleveland & Chicago), Toma's (Kansas City), Bogren's (Chicago), Gill's (Milwaukee) and Fenick's (Detroit) have all inspired others to follow their career paths and in making sportsturf safer and better for the athletes to perform on, to the fullest extent of their potential.

Roger Bossard Carries on the Bossard Tradition and Legacy

Comiskey Park in Chicago (now Us Cellular Field) saw its first baseball game on July 1, 1910.
For 80 years the old park lured numerous players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, George Kell, Cy Young, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and many more. When the new Comiskey Park opened in 1991 across the street from the old stadium, the exploding scoreboard, centerfield bleachers, arch windows and even the infield soil were brought to the new site to carry on a tradition. I have known Roger Bossard for the past 30 years as a close friend, colleague, and professional. He is one of the best, if not the best, baseball men in this country. Roger epitomizes today's groundskeeper. He is a self-made man who learned "on the job" from both his grandfather and his father. Since he entered the field quite young and set his sites on becoming the head grounds keeper when his father retired, he chose not to attend college. But, unlike many others in this field he is well read, attends meetings and conferences to keep abreast of new developments and new technological advancements, and networks with fellow professionals to share and absorb new ideas.

Field Maintenance is an Art and a Science

The late Bill Veeck once said, "a good grounds crew is worth 10 – 12 games a year in the standings" and the Bossard's learned all the tricks. In addition, a good groundskeeper is worth an ace pitcher or a slugging outfielder. Roger is one of a dying breed of groundskeepers who has learned certain tricks of the trade to give the home team an advantage. Roger's father, Gene, liked to give the White Sox an advantage. If Gene wanted to water down the outfield power alleys against the hard hitting Yankees - so their long hits could be cut off before rolling to the wall for extra bases - he did. Everyone did. That was the way the game was played. In 1967 when Eddie Stanky was the White Sox Manager the team had no power hitters, so if the Sox couldn't hit home runs, the players on the other clubs weren't going to either. To counter this dilemma, Gene Bossard invented the "frozen baseball" which consisted of storing the baseballs in a room with high humidity for 10 - 12 days which made the balls 1/4 to 1/2 ounce heavier. According to Roger, "it limited the flight of the ball some 10 to 12 feet. His father was heard saying, "go ahead, try to slam these babies out of my park". As the years pass, these "tricks of the trade" are mostly lost as the old groundskeepers retire. But Roger says, "I won't let these tricks die, they are a lost art, and the new groundskeeper isn't really aware of these "tricks of the trade".

The New Us Cellular Field ( Comiskey Park II)

The new Us Cellular baseball field did not just come about, but rather required several years of study and testing by Roger Bossard. It consists of a sand based field with over 9,000 feet of perforated drain pipe spaced 15 feet apart. Specifically, a 12" sand rootzone with the upper 3" consisting of calcined clay (Pro's Choice/Turface) and spaghnum peat moss over a 4" gravel blanket combined with the drainage pipe.

The drainage system was developed and patented by Roger. I remember when I visited him in the late 1980"s and attended a ballgame, he came by my seat at the end of the 3rd inning and led me under the stands and through tunnels at the old park into a small room. This room was his research laboratory where he showed me several sand root-zones and drainage systems he was experimenting with in order to determine the best soil medium and drainage that could be used in the new stadium field. Moreover, he asked for input from his closest friends and colleagues who helped reassure him of his decision.

Roger is very proud of his new field. "We get 2 inches of rain and we're playing within a half hour with no standing water". Roger indicated that in 1994 keeping the field dry and playable was a real challenge. A wet spring and near record rainfall in June kept him and his 24-man grounds crew on guard. Further, he said that there were 4 playing dates in 1994 that would have been canceled at the old Comiskey Park and this equates to 30,000 fans a game and $300,000 to $400,000. The new field allows for excellent drainage, and good retention of nutrients and moisture. Roger says that growing and maintaining the grass portion of the field is the easiest part of his job. But the most important part of the field is the skinned infield clay and how it is worked and maintained. Special clays most be selected for use on this portion of the field. Sometimes this means bringing in clay from out of state.

Consultant for Other Stadiums and Fields

Besides maintaining Us Cellular Field in Chicago, Roger is also involved with the White Sox spring training complex in Tucson, Arizona. In 1998 the Sox will be moving to a new spring training complex that Roger has been involved with in Tucson, Arizona. In addition, he is involved with the St. Louis Cardinals field where he recommended a new selection of common bermudagrass developed at the University of Kentucky by Dr. A.J. Powell known as "Quick Stand". He also has been consulting with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Phoenix Diamond Backs and minor league fields. When does he have time for sleeping and for his family?

Will There Be a Fourth Generation Bossard?

Probably not. When Roger retires someday, he is only in his mid 50’s, more than likely he will pass his knowledge on to one of his able assistants. Roger's daughter, Brittany is 14 years old this year and he hopes she will not want to follow in his footsteps. He also has a son who is 8 and one never knows as he may play baseball or decide to be like dad.. "I love my job but there is too much pressure - I want better for my children". " I'm a very fortunate person, I'm doing what I love and getting paid for it".

Through all the years I have known Roger I have been greatly impressed with his achievements and with him as a friend and person. I find him to be a hard working, humble and friendly individual who strives for the very best through reading and seeking advice from his closest friends and colleagues. When it comes to manicuring a baseball field he is one of the best. And what impresses me the most is that Roger is carrying on the great Bossard tradition and legacy to the next level. Keep up the fine standards you have set for yourself and the sports turf profession, Roger. You have many friends who appreciate your dedication and professional ethics.

When the White Sox won the World Series this fall much of the credit should go to Roger and his grounds crew for having a beautiful playing surface that performed superbly for both the White Sox and the Houston Astros.