groundsman now and again and, when the club parted company with him three years ago, he simply filled the void by taking on the whole of the job. The extraordinary thing is that, up until that moment, he had never used a piece of turf care kit. For three seasons now he has been in charge of pitch care at Hastings and, this summer, collected an FA award for the results of his work: a meteoric rise in anyone’s book. Simon admits that previously he
really had no idea how much time was needed to prepare a pitch. He soon discovered that two or three hours before kick-off, cutting and marking didn’t begin to cover it. His natural inclination that, ‘if something wasn’t quite right to see that it is’ took over. A quest for perfection began.
Simon with his own spreader
He had had no formal turf training and learned things very much as he went along, picking up tips from all manner of sources. The best of these, he says, is the Pitchcare forum, and he’s a regular visitor. Simon is entirely self-taught, but says he’s gained so much knowledge from trade contacts, the most significant of these being Andy Russell at Headland Amenity. “There’s maybe a bit too much emphasis on science these days
when it comes to pitch care,” says Simon. “All that’s really needed is a practical approach and attention to detail. Andy’s been very helpful in this regard.”
“I’ve noticed in the last twelve months how switching to using a slow release fertiliser has given the pitch much more even growth around the calendar. Drainage conditions here are pretty good anyway, but consistent grass cover means I seldom get problems with surface water.”
Money is tight at this level of football for all clubs. Hastings is no exception. Survival is the abiding watchword. Simon’s situation is an interesting one: he has a foot in both camps when it comes to budgeting and spending. Groundsmen, especially in these lower echelons, can be seen as a club servant always having to go ‘cap in hand’ when it comes to kit or materials. So which cap does Simon wear? “Obviously, I do know how
restricted things are financially so, in that sense, it’s easier for me to be realistic, but it is harder now knowing just what it takes to do the job properly,” he says. “If I were just the groundsman, I could plead hammer and tongs for this, that and the other.” The kit is limited, to say the least, so it’s all the more
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