The Grass Keeps Growing
Mar 25, 2020 | Baseball
Nick McKenna and the Texas A&M Athletic Field Staff Continue to Shine
On March 12, the collegiate baseball season came to an unprecedented and screeching halt. Less than a week later, the Southeastern Conference announced the 2020 season was over. The grass on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park did not receive either of those memos. With that, Assistant Athletic Fields Manager and Olsen Field Groundskeeper Nick McKenna shows up to work every day to keep the baseball gem of the Brazos Valley the best collegiate playing surface in the country.
"You don't just show up on game days and flip a switch," McKenna said. "Maintaining Olsen Field is a process that is done throughout the course of the entire year. I liken it to how coach prepares a team to compete. We spend days, weeks and months building things up so that when game day arrives, we are prepared for the field to perform at its best. There are millions of individual grass plants on the field and we're trying to grow, strengthen and build each one so that it can handle the daily rigors that are placed on it."
McKenna is one of six members of the Texas A&M Athletic Field Staff reporting to work in order to maintain the emerald jewels of Aggieland, including Kyle Field, Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, Davis Diamond, and Ellis Field.
"Fortunately, the nature of our job obviously allows for social distancing," McKenna said. "We are very cognizant of our proximity and limit our interactions when we do have a job that requires more than one individual."
McKenna works with Athletic Field Maintenance Manager Craig Potts to develop and coordinate a daily plan. A majority of what the crew is doing these days is keeping up with the everyday maintenance of facilities and the mowing of all fields.
"We're maintaining all the playing surfaces and grass landscape around our facilities," McKenna said. "Unfortunately, we're not sure when this will all end so we are trying to maintain our normal routine as much as possible. That way, no matter when that time is, the field is ready to go for whatever events or activities we throw at it next."
As with all businesses, the Texas A&M Field Staff has made a quick pivot during these extraordinary times. During a normal spring day at Blue Bell Park, McKenna and his band of grass wizards find themselves repairing the clay areas, including the mounds, both on the field and in the bullpens, as well as home plate; prepping the infield skin (dirt to the layperson) area for practices and mowing the field. Olsen Field is mowed six to seven times a week during the season.
"It's a lot more intensively managed than most people think," McKenna said. "Without practices and competitions, we're still doing some of that stuff, but obviously not as much of the repair work is needed. We've shifted our focus forward to some more intensive maintenance practices to better prepare the field for whenever we resume activities.
It would surprise the weekend lawn warrior how little the staff waters the field
"One of the things that we DON'T do on a daily basis is irrigate the field." McKenna said. "That's probably one of the most asked questions I get and the answer is 'we try to water the field only when it needs it.' During peak growing conditions, that's usually only one or two times a week."
As with all facets of athletics in this time of dormancy, the field crew looks to make the best of the situation. They will use the time to institute bold new initiatives while also catching up with projects in arrears.
"There are a few things we're doing which we wouldn't normally do at this time of year," McKenna said. "We sprayed out all the ryegrass on the field using an herbicide to help speed up the process. This is the first time we have ever done this at baseball. We usually allow Mother Nature to do this for us as the season progresses, but it normally takes until early June for it to happen. Our maintenance focus can shift to growing just Bermudagrass instead of trying to balance a combination of the two. Once we found out all activities were canceled to at least April 15, we felt like it gave us a sufficient window to make the transition. It will benefit the Bermudagrass and the field in the long run."
The staff hopes to utilize the time to aerate the field. The process consists of punching small holes in the soil, allowing air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots, inspiring a stronger, more vigorous turf. McKenna does this periodically throughout the season, but he is using this opportunity to take a more aggressive approach.
"We have a little more time for recovery than we typically do," McKenna said. "So we are going to be more aggressive with aeration and our other cultural practices. This will also help us with our transition back to 100 percent Bermudagrass. It aids in relieving soil compaction on the field, which improves drainage. The result should be a stronger, healthier plant system."
McKenna is nationally recognized as a star in the industry. He acted as Secretary and Treasurer of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) in 2019. He served on the STMA Board of Directors in 2016 as a representative of the higher education turf managers. McKenna has worked as treasurer of the Texas Sports Turf Managers Association since 2016 and has a past stint as the organization's president.
The Vinton, Iowa, native is in his 12th year with Texas A&M, currently in the ninth year of his second stint. McKenna has served as the Athletic Fields Foreman and Olsen Field Groundskeeper since 2011. Prior to returning to College Station, McKenna spent four years on the grounds crew at Virginia Tech from 2006-2010.
While it is still a labor of love for McKenna, there is definitely something missing from his life these days.
"I'm used to seeing and interacting with the players and baseball staff on a daily basis, so that is the biggest change for me personally," McKenna said. "They are all like a second family to me. It's definitely weird to not have them around the ballpark. Hopefully they are back soon."
When they return, Olsen Field will be ready for them.
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