Groundskeeper Chats

Every career has an origin story. Live from the SFMA conference, Sports Turf Manager Darren Criswell shares how a part-time job at a spring training facility sparked a lifelong career in sports turf management. Along the way, we talk mentorship, leadership, earning a seat at the table, and why the toughest days often build the strongest teams. What you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat: Da...

Ryan Lefler, Field Superintendent for the Worcester Red Sox, joined Meg in Fort Worth share his unconventional path into professional baseball, the power of building a strong grounds crew culture, and how creativity has helped showcase the profession through social media. Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat: Field maintenance to marathon training The realities of Minor League...

Marcus Elswick brought an audience and Kentucky pride to his Groundskeeper Chat in Fort Worth. Marcus and Meg caught up since their chat in 2024 and talked about the impact of being involved at the national and local levels of SFMA. Here's what you'll hear in this week's chat: Life updates with Marcus Kentucky Branch of SFMA University of Kentucky updates Marcus and his crew A little bit more abou...

City of Phoenix's, Sarah Martin, stopped by our booth at the Sports Field Management Conference to catch up and conduct our year in review. Sarah and Meg focused on the importance of community and how organizations like SMFA can play a pivotal role in someone's career and life.   A little bit more about our guest... Sarah Martin is a Park Supervisor for the City of Phoenix Parks and Rec in the Wat...

Minnesota Twins Head Groundskeeper, Larry DiVito joins us for his second Groundskeeper Chat at SFMA in Fort Worth. Larry joined us to recount his shock at winning the 2025 Dick Erickson Award the previous year and how he was preparing for his big speech! Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat: SFMA Annual Awards Reflecting on his career His crew and culture What's Next? A little...

Bryan Sheetz left behind the classroom for the week during the SFMA conference and joined Meg for his first Groundskeeper Chat. Sheetz is the Landscaping & Turf Management Teacher at Thomas Dale High School  in Chester, VA. Here's what you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  One Man Band Bryan Sheetz  Branding + Social Media + New Gen.  SFMA National Field of the Year  Turf credentials...

Howdy! Arizona born and raised, Jared Olson has traveled the world through turf and now calls Texas home. Jared is the Director of Grounds with Austin FC and joined Meg in Fort Worth for his first #GroundskeeperChat. Here's what you'll hear in this week's episode:  The Olson Turf Origin Story  The many walks of life within the turf industry  What makes Austin FC home  MLS Grounds Crew of the Year...

Fan favorite and Certified Sports Field Manager, Sun Roesslein joins Meg in Fort Worth during the SFMA annual conference to pick up where the two left off. Sun shares an exciting career update while diving into the power of networking, community, and navigating career transitions in the sports turf industry. Here's what you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat: Our reoccurring Weston Appelfel...

Our annual catch up with one of our favorite Arizona duos, Leah and Mike from ASU! The pair joins us to recap some of the 2025 season highlights and a look at what's coming down the line. Here's what you'll hear in this week's SFMA episode:  ASU's football season highlights  Crew culture and morale  Softball season outlook  A little bit more about our guests...  Leah Withrow is an Assistant Field...

Troy Crawford joined us in his home state to update us on his next adventure! With more than 30 years of experience with teams like the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and FC Dallas, Troy is bringing his talents to the new Texas Health Mansfield Stadium as their Director of Grounds. Here's what you'll hear from our latest SFMA episode: - Troy's Turf Origin Story - 30 years with some of the Texas gre...

Travis Sales, Director Parks Recreation and Animal Services at City of Rockwall, joined us in Fort Worth to help bring the Texas energy to our SFMA series!

Ava Veith has lived many lives already in the turf industry. Her current gig has her at Penn State University working alongside Chase Straw. Ava's turned her passion for sports into turf during her time at Virginia Tech and the sky is the limit! Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  Soccer player to precision turf management  Falling in love with the research  Tech to KC to P...

Dynamic duo Brad and Colby with The University of Houston opened our live show in Fort Worth with a bang! They brought the energy and stories to help us kick off our SFMA series. Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  Check-in with Brad  Wrangling Colby into the chat  The Dynamic of the crew and culture  What's to come in 2026 for the UH Cougar Crew  A little bit more about ou...

The final power couple of our SFMA series is Nick McKenna and Holly Kasperbauer joined Meg in Fort Worth. The two down minutes after finishing their session to rehash the content, the takeaways and much more in this week's chat. Here's what you'll hear in this #GroundskeeperChat:  Holly's origin story, rooted in turf  Holly & Nick in the classroom  Generational Intelligence: Leadership for a M...

The industry's yearly therapy session with the ultimate power couple, the Goatley's is here. The Goatley's joined Meg and Tyler Morris in Fort Worth at SFMA for the 2026 check in. Here's what you'll hear in this week's episode: - Work/Life Balance Session Recap - Breaking News: Retirement - Partner POV - Recap + what's to come A little bit more about our guests... Lisa Goatley is a Licensed Profes...

Live from Fort Worth, Tyler Morris and Alex Principe joined me to help kick off our 2026 SFMA series. A concept of bringing in the partner's POV into the chat finally came to fruition. Here's what you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  The MVP's on the Homefront for FIFA Partner POV  Building a Community  Sis Pitches  SFMA special segments  A little bit more about our guests...  Tyler Mor...

One of the most name dropped guests of the day, Matt Duncan joined us at OTF to share about his career which is rooted in networking and mentoring. Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  Matt's turf origin story  Matt Duncan, the meaningful mentor  How OTF has impacted Matt's career  Matt's living legacy in the industry  A little bit more about our guest...  Matt Duncan is a P...

Tyler Carr joined us amidst a busy conference day at OTF to bring us up to speed on the logistics behind what's to come for the industry organization in 2026. Here's what you'll hear in this #GroundskeeperChat:  Tyler's new role as the Executive Director for OTF  Building and establishing trust with board members  The impact OTF has played in Tyler's career  Meaningful mentors along the way  A lit...

Columbus Clippers', Chris Mason joined us for the first time at the Ohio Turfgrass Conference. We dove into his turf origin story and much more in this week's #GroundskeeperChat. Here's what you'll hear: - Chris Mason's turf origin story - How to build a crew - How OTF has impacted Chris' career - Meaningful mentors along the way A little bit more about our guest... Chris Mason is the Head Grounds...

Longtime friend of our show, Brian Hall, joined Meg and Chris in Columbus to receive his praise for helping us make the OTF live show a reality! Brian recapped a transformative year for the industry organization and all the exciting things to come!  A little bit more about our guest... Brian Hall is the Facilities and Maintenance Director at Sylvania Recreation and Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Treasu...

A guest who has been at the top of Meg's wish list, Pam Sherratt, joins us in Columbus for her first Groundskeeper Chat! Pam is the ultimate boy mom, OSU pillar and industry advocate and we were thrilled to hear her full turf origin story and much more in this week's #GroundskeeperChat:  OSU at the core of Pam's career  Meg's pitch to be a parent chaperone  People and creativity  OTF central to Pa...

Andrew Northeim, Senior Head Groundskeeper for the Columbus Crew, joined us at the Ohio Turfgrass Conference to talk all things turf—from industry advocacy to preparing fields on the world stage ahead of the World Cup. In this episode, we cover: - A rapid recap of Andrew’s turfgrass origin story - OTF 2025 at a glance - How Andrew strives for balance on and off the field - Building a strong networ...

Beth Guertal's Turf Origin Story  A Career that people stumble upon  The 3 ways that industry groups have impacted Beth's career  Network of champions  The evolution of our industry, good vs bad  A little bit more about our guests... Beth Guertal was a longtime professor at Auburn University in Turfgrass Management. Now with Kansas State University, Beth specializes in research in soil fertility t...

We kicked off another Live series with Ohio Turfgrass Foundation President, Ryan Margraf. Margraf shared his turf origin story and recapped a year of transformation for the industry group. Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat: - Two decades with The Motz Group - OTF going out on their own - OTF/OSU Partnership - How OTF has helped Ryan outside of work A little bit more about o...

Jeff McManus is the Executive Director of Campus Grounds and Landscape at the University of Texas. Before joining the UT team Jeff was with Ole Miss for 25 years. During that time Jeff built his philosophies on team building and turning weeders into leaders. Here's what you'll hear in this week's episode: - The Pride, Passion and Purpose behind our workforce. - Turning Weeders into Leaders - Your...