If you're enthusiastic and motivated to learn, you might just be lucky enough to meet an individual who guides you through the early years of your working life. Through their practical and pastoral guidance, they help you set goals, achieve standards and reach milestones, shaping your career and your future.
Andrew Lloyd was lucky enough to have such a mentor in the Arsenal Grounds Manager, Steve Braddock. He shared his story with Pitchcare.
MASTER OF ALL HE SURVEYS... A
ndrew Lloyd met Steve Braddock when he was five years old as pupils at the same primary school.
As a teenager, he went on to play Sunday League football at the Royal Veterinary College where Steve was groundsman. The players collectively referred to the pitch there as ‘the carpet’, recognition that later led to George Graham offering Steve the Arsenal job. Aged 20, Andrew left the country seeking new horizons, travelling to Israel where he worked on the collective community land at a Kibbutz for two years. After leaving the Middle East he moved on to Australia, working in agriculture, engineering and on a golf course during his months in Sydney and Brisbane.
The opening of Arsenal’s Colney training ground in 1999 opened up fresh opportunities for ten new faces on the groundstaff and, upon his return to the UK, Andrew became one of them. The £10 million state-of-the-art development, built by Leicester-based Hewitt Sportsturf, contained ten full size pitches and a training area for goalkeepers. Andrew had no formal
groundsmanship training or qualifications but Steve was happy to teach him, the only prerequisite being a good attitude, dedication and commonsense. His internal training focused on the core tasks of pitch maintenance - cutting, marking out, spiking, aerating. A year on, and following good progress, Andrew was made second in charge.
“I guess I've always had a natural aptitude for working on the land” he summarised. “Added to that was my passion for the club as a lifelong fan and spectator.” All renovation work was completed in-
14 Time for change
During his last two years at Arsenal, Andrew became increasingly dispirited. With a young family, the long summer hours became problematic. He wanted to remain in the industry but had a hunger for a new challenge. “For more than six months I read trade magazines, researched on the internet and considered my options. I didn’t want to go down the contracting route but needed to find a way to channel my skills into a venture that would also fit around my family.” “In the summer of 2007, I met up with Bob Underhill from Lawn Master. I’d seen his advert in Pitchcare and wanted to know more. He chatted to me about my background, family and ambitions for the future and explained that he was looking for professional turf managers with ambition, drive and good customer service skills to become Lawn Master depots.”
“I was looking for a way to use the skills I’d learnt at Arsenal, with the flexibility to raise a family so I could build a better future for us all.” “Steve was one of the first people I
house and Steve and Andrew began to add to the fleet of specialist machinery. “We were one of the first clubs in the UK to have a Koro” said Andrew, and I remember going to Rotterdam to see it in action. The invention of a machine that could take the surface off in one pass was a pivotal moment for anyone involved in sportsturf. It revolutionised the way we carried out renovations. From then on, I became the big machinery specialist at the training ground because I could keep my concentration for long periods of time - you had to with a possible 98 sprinklers to Koro over!”
spoke to about it. He told me to think very carefully before making any decisions and was concerned about how I’d make money during the winter months. It was huge decision, with significant financial implications but, ultimately, a decision that only I could make.” “As with any new business venture, finance is a critical issue. I’d be leaving behind 80-100 hours overtime per month at the club and that gave me some wobbly moments. I discussed my concerns with my wife, friends and family. Bob suggested I spend a day working with Spencer Haines, a former Golf Course Manager who had joined Lawn Master the previous year. Spencer had made enormous strides since taking the decision to leave his golf club and appreciated the opportunity to talk openly and candidly with someone who had been in my position only a few months previously.” “As I was unable to raise the full amount of capital needed to buy the franchise, Bob agreed to defer the payments until I’d established an income. Slowly, the pieces fell into place and my decision was made. Eight months
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