In this edition of the SportsField Management Interview, we speak with Jeremy Driscoll, CSFM, grounds supervisor at St. Mark’s High School in Wilmington, Delaware. Driscoll serves the SFMA Board of Directors as Director – Schools K-12; and is also a co-founder of the Mid-Atlantic SFMA Chapter, where he is past president.
SportsField Management (SFM): You graduated from St. Mark’s – the high school at which you now work – in 1995. Please tell me a bit about your background and what has given you such strong ties to the community and the school.
Jeremy Driscoll, CSFM: I began my working career in high school working for my best friend’s parents at Feby’s Fishery in Wilmington, Delaware. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that experience, as it taught me responsibilities, work ethic, punctuality, teamwork and general life skills.
After trying to figure out what I wanted to do and/or who I wanted to work for, traveling and living in a few different areas, I wound up in a car accident, which led me back to Delaware. While working as an arborist for the county, I was passed up for promotions and was told by my supervisor that I would never make it there as I was overeducated and overqualified.
A job was posted for a position at my alma mater, Saint Mark’s High School, and I applied. I honestly thought I would just be cutting grass, but it turned out there was a whole lot more to do in my title role as ground’s supervisor. I created a vision for what I wanted the grounds to become; and with the help of my small team we improve things on a daily basis.
SFM: You studied Urban Tree Management at Paul Smith’s College, and then General Ag at University of Delaware. What influenced that career path?
Driscoll: I applied to two 2-year schools, and one was Paul Smith’s College. At the time there were really only two options for me – forestry or culinary – and I chose forestry. After completing my associate degree I still wasn’t quite ready for a career job and needed to burn off some steam and carve some mountains, so I headed back to Colorado and worked for the municipality plowing snow and attaining my CDL. I knew that if I wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree I had to go back to school, and the logical option for me was to return to Delaware. When I began at the University of Delaware, I was going to earn my degree in Elementary Education, but was advised to change majors and I graduated with a degree in General Ag.
During my career, I have been an arborist intern at Winterthur Museum and Gardens, I spent time working on a bobsled course, worked as a municipality snowplow driver, municipal arborist, commercial arborist, and was self-employed as a general contractor.
SFM: Please tell us about your role at St. Mark’s, your crew and the fields/facilities/grounds that you manage.
Driscoll: We manage approximately 50 acres of grounds, baseball and softball field and four rectangles, as well as a few plots of practice ground. Including me, I have two full-time employees and I cross my fingers every summer to get a few students who want to put in a little sweat equity and learn some things they can use as they pursue their careers.

SFM: What are the biggest challenges you have faced? And, in general, what are the biggest challenges facing sports field managers at the K-12 level?
Driscoll: The biggest challenge has to be time, personnel and budget at the K-12 level. We don’t just care for the multiple sports fields and teams playing each season – we are involved with nearly every event that takes place on campus, and sometimes off. We do have some commercial help with larger jobs; however, we tackle electrical, fencing, hardscaping, landscaping, tree care and a multitude of other tasks as well.
SFM: What is the best part of the job?
Driscoll: The best part of the job is also the hardest, which has to be the assortment of different jobs and challenges we face. I enjoy taking on a new project and seeing the positive end result it has played in increasing the beauty of the campus or the way it will benefit the students.

SFM: When you took the position at St. Mark’s you obviously had expertise in arboriculture, but how well versed were you in sports field management, or what were the biggest challenges early on when it came to managing the athletic fields?
Driscoll: Like I said, when I was offered and accepted the job at Saint Mark’s, I thought I would just be cutting grass. I knew a little bit about turfgrass from my college courses, but it was eye opening what I needed to learn about sports field management. At that time, I found the STMA (now SFMA), and the association helped me along my journey and growth of sports field care.
SFMA has greatly helped me in every manner – from learning to draw diagrams, distances and measurements and what lines mean and how they work for the individual sports to what works and hasn’t worked for individuals across the country, what good grass is for a natural grass field, proper mowing heights, that you can push boundaries and buttons, aeration is everything, and our main focus should simply be providing quality safe playing surfaces for whatever level athlete. SFMA has been a valuable tool in my toolbox. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without the association, which is why I participate and try to advocate for others to join.
SFM: You have served, and continue to serve, SFMA on various committees and on the board of directors. You also helped found the Mid-Atlantic chapter. What drives you to volunteer and give back to the industry? And what advice do you have for other sports field managers when it comes to industry involvement?
Driscoll: Serving and continuing to serve both at the chapter level and at the national level has been a blessing. The association has given so much to me in raising my awareness and making me a better sports field manager that I work to spread the word of the association and what it will offer others. From the education that can be received at conference and throughout the year on different platforms to the networking that can be done among your peers, it absolutely has been amazing to serve and I hope to continue to share with others what SFMA is about.

SFM: Who has influenced you most in your career?
Driscoll: There have been some incredible people who have in one way or another shaped me. First, my parents – Marianne and Jeremiah – who instilled in me a strong work ethic and the principles of giving it your all and always doing your best.
The faculty and staff during my years at Saint Mark’s as a student were highly influential in getting me to where I am today. They held me to higher standards, always expected the best, and with guidance and discipline made my continuing education relatively easy as I knew what I had to do to succeed. When it comes to sports field management, the individual who believed in me and pushed me to become a CSFM was Jody Gill, CSFM. I became a director on the board while he was the first K-12 president of the association. He challenged me to attain the certification, which I did a few years ago.
SFM: You have a third-degree blackbelt in taekwondo, and you are also an instructor. How have martial arts influenced your life, and how do they impact your day-to-day approach to what you do?
Driscoll: I fell into martial arts and taekwondo in particular at a late age. I had always wanted to learn, but it was a costly activity for my family at the time. While still an expense like any other activity, my son and I together took on the challenge about 10 years ago. I was supposed to end my journey after I received my first degree, but I was hooked. The positive energy, structure and support received from my masters has been amazing. To be able to be a part of the Tiger Kicks family and do the same for new students as an instructor brings me joy. Learning taekwondo has helped me be more focused at tasks at hand, willing to take on new challenges, set new goals, discipline myself and have confidence in myself, my goals and my visions.
SFM: Please tell us a bit about your other interests outside of work, your family, or anything else that shapes who you are.
Driscoll: Outside of work…I don’t know what that is, as I always find something to work on or a project to tackle. As they say, if you love what you do it’s not a job. My other extra curriculars involve watching my son Eughan (pronounced Owen) pursue his passion in baseball, and aiding my wife, Susan, with the dog rescue organization, ECHO, that she is passionate about. We currently have two foster failed dogs, as well as two foster cats and two foster dogs we care for. I enjoy going to the movies, up cycling and being outside in nature doing any multitude of things. Every day is a blessing!