Assistant Athletics Director, Sports Fields for Texas A&M Athletics. Certified Sports Field Manager. Views expressed are my own & not that of my employer.
We have Kyle Field tucked away underneath our growth blankets for the next few days. These will help to insulate the field from cooler nighttime temperatures & create a greenhouse effect during the day that helps us increase temperatures & manipulate the grass into growing more.
The @aggiefieldstaff crew is off to a great start for the week! Base coat of paint is down on all of our logos & large painted areas. Next two days will be spent doing a second coat plus painting all of the essential field markings (yardlines, hashes, numbers, etc). Gig ‘em! 💪
When the water line that feeds the entire stadium breaks 4 hours before first pitch, you improvise a way to get a pregame water on the infield dirt! #usewhatyougot
First lines of the fall went down on Kyle Field today. That can only mean one thing…..@AggieFootball season is upon us! Our crew with @aggiefieldstaff has been crushing it all summer so we’re almost ready to go!
Very few field manager’s get to build the type of relationship Rob & I developed over our years together. ALWAYS treated me & my crew with dignity, respect & included us as a part of the team. Also opened his arms to Holly & I from day one & treated us like family. #ClassAct
"Coach Childress is a great man and we appreciate his long-term dedication to Texas A&M and for leading our baseball program with class and dignity in every phase..."
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. I will take my crew every single day of the week with complete confidence that they will rise to the challenge and get the job done! 💪
Been asking to do this since last year and we’ve had this planned for almost a month. Great job by @TaylorMcGillis in pitching this, our @aggieathletics creative team in conceptualizing it, and amazing job by my @aggiefieldstaff team in implementing it! Now let’s BTHO Miss. St.!
Day 2 of painting is in the books. Mother Nature is certainly keeping us on our toes but the crew continues to step up to the occasion. Tomorrow will be a second coat on all the logos and Friday will be left for touch up work. After that…@AggieFootball GAMEDAY
Our crew is the best crew! Proud of our team for all the hard work and energy they put into Kyle Field this season and all of our fields! Glad to see them get a little recognition for their efforts!
All striped up and ready for the show tonight. @aggiefieldstaff has done a phenomenal job over the last 3 months in getting us to this point! Ready to watch @AggieFootball BTHO Notre Dame!!!
I never like to let good grass go to waste, so we are repurposing the grass from last night’s match & laying it over the infield surface at our old softball complex. This will create an expanded area for @AggieSoccer to utilize for drills, training, S&C, & small set pieces.
Had an extra hand to help us as we prepare for the big game this weekend. President Welsh embodies EVERYTHING about @TAMU that makes it special & is just an all-around good person! Proud to have him as our university leader & honored to get to work with him every now & then! 👍
President Welsh has worked hard to ensure one of our favorite facilities is in tip-top shape! In this season of thankfulness, join us in extending a BIG thank you to all the Aggies working tirelessly to make sure rivalry weekend goes off without a hitch. Gig ‘em, Ags!
2nd half was played after heavy rain with off & on drizzle, followed by another heavy rain postgame. Games played in wet conditions can cause significantly more damage. Quick bayonet aerification to help the field breath, move water, & recover followed by a light roll & mow.
It was a busy morning at Olsen Field this morning backfilling and rolling edges to ensure a smooth transition from grass to dirt. Trying to make final preparations for the start of the fall season for @AggieBaseball next week!
Game 1 in the books! Post game cleanup & mow with @aggiefieldstaff, followed by a recovery spray to get things going for next week & now it’s on to the next one!
Yesterday was inside edges and the back arc of the infield dirt. Today we finished backfilling the outside edges and baselines. Olsen Field is pretty much ready to go for the start of fall practice for @AggieBaseball on Monday!
Match day for Brazil vs Mexico at Kyle Field has finally arrived. Fresh coat of paint already down, some final field detail work and we’ll be ready to play some futbol!
In other news, today was @ag90turfgrass’ last day before retiring from @12thMan after 27 years! One of the GOAT’s of sportsfield management @FieldExperts! To quote Tim McGraw, “the ending of an era and the turning of a page”. Thanks for everything Craig and happy retirement!
If you build it, he will come...
Field manager Nick McKenna was bestowed the honor of serving on the grounds crew for Thursday's #MLBatFieldofDreams game! 👏🧢🆙
@aggiefieldguy | #GigEm
Wash, rinse, repeat for @aggiefieldstaff! The crew jumped right back into replicating preparations from last week to get ready for game #2 on top of also prepping fields for all our other sports teams. One more day of painting & then it’s time for @AggieFootball to BTHO Utah St!
Wrapped up another successful football season for the @aggiefieldstaff. Can’t thank these guys enough for all that they do! Very few people see or even recognize the amount of time, effort, energy, & work that they put into ALL of our fields. Next up, Spring sports! #BTHOEveryone
Almost 6 inches of rain since 2:00pm today. Incredible job by the @aggiefieldstaff getting the field ready for the game tonight. Now it’s time to #BTHO Arkansas.
Had a great stroll with @drewsky18 yesterday knocking some holes on @AggieFootball’s practice fields. Lots of extra wear & tear this year due to construction. This week is the biggest break these fields have until our bye week in Oct. Next up, burying them in 100+ tons of sand!
What an incredible honor it was for me to work with this group for the past 3 days to help execute the #MLBatFieldofDreams game! Thank you to @cookmurray & co. for allowing me to play a small part in that endeavor!
Another home football season in the books. I’ll go to battle with this crew anytime! So thankful for each one of these individuals! Couldn’t accomplish what we do without their hard work and dedication every day.
Had a little extra help this morning from the head man himself. Thanks for coming out this morning @RossBjorkAD and giving Kyle Field a fresh cut as we prepare for the first @AggieFootball game of the season! #BTHONewMexico
It’s beginning to get really real now! T-minus 5 days until our international soccer match between Mexico & Brazil on the hallowed grounds of Kyle Field!
Last @AggieBaseball regular season game of the year. The field is a little battered and bruised but overall it’s been a great season! Shout out to my crew @aggiefieldstaff I’ll put y’all up against anyone in the country!
“Patience is a virtue”. I frequently remind myself of that & to trust the process of what we’re doing, especially when a large portion of our “success” depends on cooperation from Mother Nature & athletes/coaches. Every once in a while the process rewards us for our patience!👀😍
1️⃣ more time for the year! We’re a little dinged up from our rain game last week (mostly from the band) but all in all, Kyle Field is in great shape for @AggieFootball to #BTHOLSU! I can’t thank my @aggiefieldstaff team enough for all their hard work, effort & energy this season!
And that’s a wrap for today! Western field extension installation completed. We will get it painted and striped up tomorrow and let @Aggiefootball have it!
Signs that @AggieFootball is getting close to finally returning to Aggieland for a home game…when @aggiefieldstaff starts lining Kyle Field. ✅ We have ourselves a football field again!
Not quite the result that we wanted but we move on and start preparing for the next one. A little postgame mow with baskets, spray foliar fertilization, and irrigation to begin the recovery process. Only 7 days to get ready for @AggieFootball to BTHOMiami!
Different day, same story! Our team of people with @aggiefieldstaff are phenomenal! They rise to the challenge every single time I throw one at them! Huge shout out to the @AggieBaseball players parents (and others) that were helping us haul buckets over the wall! #Undefeated
Team effort here at Blue Bell: @aggiefieldstaff pumping water from the grass into buckets and handing it over the fence to parents/fans who are dumping it off the field.
Everyone give @aggiefieldguy and his folks some love.
My crew did it again! We’ve been patiently preparing and waiting for @AggieFootball to return to Kyle Field. As usual, @aggiefieldstaff knocked it out of the park and has Kyle ready for the Ags to #BTHOolemiss! 💪
This is why you need a true warning track surface & not just a change in the carpet color! Change in texture & sound serve as a warning to athletes & help prevent injuries like this. Hate to see this happen to a great guy (& Aggie) like @TyNaquin! Hoping for a speedy recovery!
.@aggiefieldstaff got the tarp pulled at Blue Bell Park just before the heavens opened up. Tip of the cap to the whole crew that got caught in the downpour. From experience, pulling tarp is serious business.
Once in a while we get to do something cool that’s not related to sports fields. It’s an honor to help the @BushFdn celebrate what would be George H.W. Bush’s 100th birthday by painting this logo. Service to others was important to 41 & I can’t think of a better way to give back!
It’s taken a day for this to soak in & I’m incredibly humbled & honored to receive this award! I’m blessed to have worked w/ & surrounded by amazing people in the @FieldExperts industry. This award is a testament to what they have invested in me & what I hope to return someday!
Would also love to add that @aggiefieldguy will join two of our previous leaders @ag90turfgrass and Leo Goertz in earning this prestigious award. I guess that just makes it a tradition! Thanks and Gig’Em!!
Starting the day off right with @drewsky18 touching up the lines on Kyle Field for an @AggieFootball scrimmage today with the @OfficialAgBand @Aggie_Band serenading us in the background!
Sometimes it’s the simplest things in life that are the best! Brought my buddy Murphy along to check on the field after the rains this weekend. I think he is in heaven! @WeLoveDogsUSA@dog_rates@DogsOfTurf
Time to finish out our practice field expansion project! The sod that is used for this project comes in rolls that are 3.5’ wide, 50’ long & 1.5” thick w/ each roll weighing close to 3000 pounds! This allows us to install the grass today & let @AggieFootball play on it tomorrow!
All dressed up and ready to go for @AggieFootball! Great job by the entire @aggiefieldstaff this week working around weather and practice activities for all of our other teams! Let’s go #BTHOsamhouston
My favorite thing from all these photos is if you zoom in you still see smiles on the faces of our crew members despite the daunting job they were being tasked with. They continuously rise to the challenge and find ways to enjoy it while doing so! #LaborOfLove#AboveAndBeyond
Took some extra time today to get a few of our student assistants a little bit of experience on the end of a paint gun. Our students are an integral part of EVERYTHING that our crew does. We couldn’t support our teams and student athletes the way we do without them! #TrainingDay
Day 2 of Operation Put Kyle Field Back Together. Started the day w/ all the grass removed from the construction zone & finished it w/ the surface rough graded. Tomorrow will begin fine detail leveling, reinstallation of irrigation heads & a finish grade floated out over the area.
That concludes another Fall season of home sporting events for @12thMan. I’m continually thankful for this team of individualsas they’ve crushed it all season! Not just for @AggieFootball, but for @AggieSoccer, @AggieSoftball, @AggieBaseball, & all of our other athletic teams.👍
What a crew. What a year. Kyle Field played incredibly all year and it wouldn’t be possible without every single person (and some not pictured) in this picture! Gig’Em!👍🏼
Thankful to the entire @aggiefieldstaff crew for all their hard work in making sure Kyle Field is safe and playable for @AggieFootball every week! Making it look good as well is just the icing on the cake! Also nice having a leader that recognizes what we do! 🫡
When you can’t go to the beach, bring the beach to you! Topdressingdressing our fields is a vital component of our maintenance program. Helps to protect the crown of the plant, creates a connection to our rootzone/drainage system & aids us in keeping the surface smooth.
Extremely proud of my team for their hard work & dedication to pull everything together at exactly the right time! It’s been an eventful year so far around @AggieAthletics w/ all the construction going on & our @aggiefieldstaff crew powered through it all. Let’s BTHO New Mexico!
6 walk thru’s, 1 full practice, and 3 scrimmages on Kyle since August 2nd. It’s been a hell of a summer but man I couldn’t be happier with where we are. @AggieFootball is BACK!👍🏼#BTHOnewmexico