By John Kmitta
Turfgrass education at the high school level has been on the rise in recent years. We have shared news of the success of the programs at Brentsville District High School, Atlee High School, Louisa County School District, Atwater High School, Corona Del Mar and more. But there are many other high schools throughout the country that are offering turfgrass management courses to their students, and still others looking to start similar programs.
When Thomas Dale High School in Virginia launched its turfgrass management offerings in 2001, it had 26 students in the program. Today, the program has two teachers and 160 students.
“Our administration has taken notice, and bought into what we are doing,” said Bryan Sheetz, landscaping/turf management teacher at Thomas Dale High School. “They realized that we are creating jobs, and a lot of our students have internships and high work-based learning; so they are putting students into this program because they can be career or college bound.”
According to Sheetz, the program has received recognition in the state of Virginia, and has garnered support from Virginia Tech, as well as business and industry partners. Students from the program are working in parks and rec, and even interning or working game day crew for the Richmond Flying Squirrels Minor League Baseball team.
South Forsyth High School in Georgia began its turf management pathway in 2018. The three-year program actively recruits students from area middle schools to come to South Forsyth to take the turf management pathway.
The first year of the program is a basic Agriculture class, but it is the only Ag class in the county that focuses on plant science.
“That course is probably the hardest one because we front load all of the learning, as it applies to everything we do after that,” said Kyle Turner, turf management pathway instructor. “So we’re learning about roots, stems, leaves, and all the different functions within a plant. We have some raised garden beds that we got a grant for, so they get to grow their own little garden outside.”
The second year at South Forsyth focuses on general horticulture, including shrubs and landscape, then transitions to turf, irrigation and equipment training. Year three is a turf and landscape class that is as hands on as the weather will allow. Turner teaches all of the classes, and his students manage the turf areas for track and field, as well as flag football, soccer, lacrosse and baseball.
At Thomas Dale High School, students take Landscaping 1, Landscaping 2, Turfgrass Management, and Advanced Turfgrass Management. According to Sheetz, more of his students are interested in the turfgrass industry than they are in the landscape industry.
“We see the opportunities, especially with the new national FFA curriculum and turf management,” said Sheetz. “I can sell that a whole lot more because our state curriculum is turf management as well, and then we would be eligible to go on to the national competition.”
Students new to the program at Thomas Dale start off learning safety and how to use equipment. They eventually take state-required written and hands-on tests for equipment safety. The classes at Thomas Dale are in-classroom during the winter and a fairly even mix of in-classroom and outdoor hands-on during the fall and spring.
“We have crews that paint, crews that mow, crews that spring trim around our stadium,” said Sheetz. “We are student led, and our team looks at the agenda for the day, and I step back and watch. They go off on their own and choose their own paths. We manage the stadium, which is lacrosse and soccer in spring, and football in the fall. And we do all the work on our baseball and softball fields.”
Sheetz added that students often excel at different tasks; so, they handle the tasks with which they are most comfortable. He added that it is important for students to take a leadership role, even if that is just setting a string line.
“When they have ownership and they buy into what they’re doing, that’s huge,” he said.
Class sizes at Thomas Dale are capped at 20, while the average turf management class at South Forsyth has 13 students.
Turner, who had worked for the Atlanta Braves for five years and then was working in golf course management, was coaching at South Forsyth when approached to teach the turf management pathway.
Sheetz, on the other hand, came to the industry in a more circuitous fashion.
“I have a degree in music and I taught elementary music for 19 years,” he said. “In the middle of that process I needed to do something different. So I started a landscape business and I got really big into chemical application.”
Sheetz wanted to improve the quality of the sports fields on which his children played, so he joined the Virginia Sports Field Managers Association, built connections with Virginia Tech, and eventually added a landscape endorsement to his teaching license.
“SFMA has been huge with partnerships, VSFMA have been great, and just the people in the industry have been arms wide open,” said Sheetz. “We’ve hosted two SFMA field days here at school and gotten our kids involved.”
According to Turner, industry support has been vital for the South Forsyth program as well. The Georgia SFMA and Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association (GSCA) have been helpful, and Georgia GCSA Executive Director, Tim Busek, along with the First Green initiative, have worked to get turfgrass education into the classroom. Industry partners, such as Ewing Irrigation, have helped establish demos for the students.
For most high school turfgrass programs, budget is a major challenge, so industry partnerships such as these are crucial for growing the program and acquiring the proper equipment and resources.
For high school teachers or administrators interested in starting their own turfgrass curriculum, Sheetz and Turner both recommend reaching out to others in the industry. From there, it’s a matter of identifying resources and growing your network.
“The biggest thing about the sports field industry is everybody is willing to help and it doesn’t matter if you are running a multi-million-dollar stadium or you’re teaching high school students,” said Sheetz. “Just reach out to anybody.”
According to Sheetz, the best part of running such a program is the recognition the students receive and what they get out of the program.
“We’ve won Pioneer Athletics Field of Excellence three years in a row, we won a Virginia SFMA Field of the Year, and we were just nominated for Virginia School Board Association for work-based learning for students,” he said. “That’s a huge accomplishment. Any time our kids get recognition is always going to be my highest pinnacle. It’s not about me; it’s about teaching these kids how to go into this industry, and show them what else is available out there in the world.”
For Turner, a South Forsyth graduate himself, his favorite part of running the turf management pathway is getting to work with students for more than one class spanning several years of their high school careers.
“Getting to see them grow, watching them interact, and seeing people step into leadership roles,” he said. “Then seeing them get opportunities. You really get to know students.”
John Kmitta is associate publisher and editorial brand director of SportsField Management magazine. If you would like to share information about your high school turfgrass program, please reach out to him at jkmitta@epgacceleration.com.