(L-r) Tim Grigg, Chris Vickerman, Sam Palmer and Adam Tester
Adam Tester is the ambitious new Head Groundsman at the University of Leicester. At the tender age of 25, his CV already features some of the county's most prestigious sporting venues. Pitchcare went along to meet him and his staff to see how he's drawing on his experience at other venues in order to ring the changes
New Testerment W
hen you’re approaching the Manor Road Sports Ground at the University of Leicester, the first thing you notice is the Astronomical Society’s metal-domed observatories which act as a handy marker for those looking to find the site. Upon arrival, you’ll also notice that the person responsible for the maintenance of the site has a keen eye for detail. The football pitch, which is surrounded by an old- fashioned but nevertheless neatly presented eight-lane cinder track, is striped to perfection, the surrounding turf is in excellent condition, even the shed is freshly painted. Adam Tester became Head
Groundsman just under a year ago and I’m eager to find out more about his background. As we chat over tea in his track-side office, I quickly establish that, even as a school leaver, he was no stranger to groundsmanship. In fact, it was all he’d ever wanted to do. He certainly has an industry ‘pedigree’ and is following in the footsteps of several generations of his family in the vocation. His great grandfather was a groundsman at Chelsea Football Club after the war, his granddad, Peter Kimpton, was a groundsman at the Hurlingham Club and his uncle, David Kimpton, is Head Groundsman at Queen’s Club, assisted by his Deputy, son Graham.
“My best childhood memories are of spending time with my granddad at the Hurlingham Club”, he recalls. “It was my playground - and what a place for a young boy to run around in! When I was approaching my final year at school, I did eight weeks’ work experience there and received a lot of good advice from Grounds Manager, Peter Craig. I was intent on carrying out my apprenticeship there, but granddad retired that year after 50 years’ service and he wasn’t happy with the prospect of me living alone in the capital, so I started to look for a position in Leicestershire.” After leaving school, Adam completed
his First Diploma in Horticulture at Brooksby Melton College before starting an apprenticeship at Enderby Golf Club, then under the stewardship of Jim
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Henshaw. Whilst learning the ropes as part of the greenkeeping team he also attained his NVQ Level 2 in Sportsturf. Having completed his apprenticeship, he took up a position at Leicestershire County Cricket Club, spending two years working at Grace Road under the watchful eyes of Andy Whiteman and Andy Ward before taking a job on the groundstaff team at Leicester City Football Club. “It’s hard to say which job I liked the most. I really enjoy cricket groundsmanship, so for hands-on work I’d say the cricket club, but I had a great time working as a team with lads my age at the Walkers Stadium. The camaraderie there was great - I still miss the buzz of matchdays!” His next move was a total departure
from his career strategy but, in Adam’s opinion, an invaluable one. He left Leicester City to take a teaching position at CARE Shangton, a residential home for more than fifty people with learning disabilities in south east Leicestershire. The facility offers its residents a network of support that enables them to lead a full and active life, and one of the activities available to them is horticulture. Adam helped a group of residents learn a variety of skills enabling them to grow and sell bedding plants, perennials, herbs, shrubs and hanging baskets, whilst maintaining the 28 acre estate which gave him the opportunity to pass on his turf maintenance advice. Some progressed to take NVQ and NPTC qualifications and could undertake supported employment at local parks.
“I learnt so much about other people, and about myself. It was my first supervisory role so I had a member of staff to instruct and support and, through teaching others, I learned a great deal about patience, communication skills, to encourage and nurture interest and how to help people achieve their full potential, valuable skills for any would-be manager”, he added.
Making changes
When Adam saw the university job advertised, he knew it was right for him
and submitted his application. Following interviews last November he was offered the position. His staff comprise two full- time members, Tim Grigg and Chris Vickerman, and two part-time staff, Richard Kinton and Sam Palmer. His predecessor, who had retired after a staggering 45 years’ service, had kept the grounds in good condition, but Adam wanted the sports pitches to become the groundstaff team’s top priority, so he formulated short and longer-term action plans to bring them up to his exacting standard. “Although the pitches were good I knew there was room for improvement and, with a change in working practices to more effectively use the kit we had, supplemented with modest judicious new kit purchases, a step change in the quality of pitches provided could be achieved.” “Colin Hide, the University’s Director of Sport, has been incredibly supportive. I know that many organisations are reluctant to invest in new machinery because they can’t see the difference it makes. I made a wishlist of kit that we needed urgently, and explained that he’d be able to see the difference it made in terms of the quality of the pitches and the reduction in the number of games that were postponed.”
Work gets underway
This year the sports facilities have undergone a number of improvements under Adam’s supervision. “So far we’ve purchased a SISIS drum
spiker, a John Deere fairway mower and we’re hoping to lease an additional compact tractor soon. In addition, we’ve also invested in good quality seed and fertiliser. This year, we’ve overseeded with British Seed Houses’ A20 Ryesport which, assisted by Aitkens’ 16:2:10 slow-release fertiliser with three month longevity, has produced a superb sward on our winter games pitches. We’ve progressed from slitting the pitches once a month and overseeding the goalmouths to spiking every other week and overseeding the whole pitch. This summer, Hewitt Sportsturf topdressed and verti-drained two of the pitches and I hope to have the
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