Winter Sports
growing strategies.” “The height of the lights can also be raised and lowered, by remote control, between 500mm-1000mm. Another feature I particularly like is that the rigs to be moved remotely with the onboard battery powered motor. We can set it predetermined times to prevent yellowing of the grass under the wheels. “We’ve used the rig to assist grass
A Qudos LED lighting rig is currently being trialed
growth in the shady areas of the pitch and goalmouths, and we’ve been pleased with their performance to date. The ability to be able to plug straight into the mains also makes the rigs more attractive as the club won’t need to invest in three phase electricity points, and we won’t have to drag large cables around the ground!” “As LED uses less energy, the cost of running the rig has been equated to be ten times cheaper than sodium lights, based on current costs. If that turns out to be the case, then they may well be within the club’s means, especially as we have saved considerable money on irrigation over the past seven months!” Ben is keen to improve his facilities,
The training ground
but realises he needs to go out and see for himself how and what other groundsmen have achieved at their grounds. “Coming from a schools background, I have been pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail here. Over the coming months, I’m hoping to meet up with several head groundsmen to help me to decide on the best way forward.”
GETTING Personal
Ben Connell - his favourite smell is a tad scary, but at least he’s polite and friendly!
Who are you? Ben Connell, Head Groundsman at Ipswich Town Football Club.
Family status? Married to Amanda for four years. We have an eighteen month old son, Tommy.
What would you change about yourself? Not to be so forgetful.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Lamb Dansak.
What do you drop everything for? My family.
What's been the highlight of your career so far? Being appointed Head Groundsman at ITFC.
Climate change - fact or fiction? Fact.
What’s your favourite season? Spring.
What are your pet peeves? Rude and arrogant people.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Havana, a beautiful city caught in a time trap.
Who or what is the most important thing in your life? My wife and son.
What’s the best part of your job? Having good machinery to work with.
… and the worst? Tight budgets.
Favourite record, and why? River of Dreams. As a thirteen year old, it was the first Billy Joel song I had heard. I have been hooked ever since.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? If not my wife, then Natalie Imbruglia.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? If I had won enough, the first thing I’d do is buy my cricket club (Felixstowe) a new clubhouse!
What's the best advice you have ever been given? Keep it simple.
What’s your favourite smell? Gunpowder!
What do you do in your spare time? I enjoy playing and watching cricket and golf.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Can you roll the mound in the cricket outfield flat?
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Our Weidenmann XF6 aerator.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Polite, friendly, forgetful.
What talent would you like to have? To be able to play the piano.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Prisoners to serve all of their sentence.
“For example, we have very old ball stop netting posts that are in need of replacing, so I’d like to see what other systems are available, and see how they are deployed and maintained at other clubs. The grass under our netting is difficult to maintain. Currently, it is sprayed out, but that tends to look unsightly. Basically, I want to improve the aesthetics of the training ground and ensure that the whole site is maintained to a high standard.”
So, does he have a wish list? “Yes, as well as the lighting rigs for the stadium, a 3G outdoor training facility would certainly take the pressure off the grass pitches, whilst a fully automated pop-up watering system at the training ground would save a huge amount of our time, so that we can concentrate on other areas.”
It is always pleasing to see groundsmen
prepared to try out new materials, products, machinery and methods. Whilst Ben and his team have a clear plan of where they would like to be in five years time, their targets can only be achieved by good record keeping, monitoring and reporting on the performance, success and, sometimes, failures of activities undertaken. Ben has certainly taken on a fascinating challenge, but I am sure he will put his own markers down and take the club into the next phase of grounds improvements in the coming years.
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