Training & Development
Q&A with Luke Dodge, IOG Young Groundsman of the Year 2012
Q1: How did you feel when you found out you were nominated for the award?
When I found I was nominated for the award I was a bit shocked as I didn’t know my manager was planning to nominate me.
Q2: How did you feel on the night when your name was read out and you realised you’d won?
I was very surprised to win the award; being up against a fellow work colleague was something unusual as well, and I felt very privileged to pick up the award.
Q3: How do you feel winning Young Groundsman of the Year will benefit your career, if at all?
Winning this award will most definitely benefit me in the future as it is a great achievement to put on to my CV. Along with this, winning the award opens avenues for me to make more contacts within the industry; the main ones at the moment being people within the IOG and the chance to join the IOG’s young board.
Q4: Very briefly, please can you tell me how and why you got into groundsmanship?
I got in to groundsmanship as part of my work experience when still at school. I was looking for a placement and one of my teachers was a member of Blackburn Golf Club who invited me to complete my placement there. From there, I went on to join Blackburn Rovers Football Club when I left school and started my apprenticeship. This career was something that I knew nothing about let alone wanted to be part of, and honestly fell in to it after my work experience at Blackburn Golf Club.
Q5: I understand you have completed a Myerscough College Apprenticeship - how has that benefitted you in your current position?
Once I joined Blackburn Rovers they started me on an apprenticeship with Myerscough College. It gave valuable basic skills for me to build upon at my place of work. An apprenticeship started to get my brain thinking of further skills and knowledge I could try and pick up and learn from. Even though I completed the apprenticeship in 2006, the basic skills picked up then will stay with me on a daily basis throughout my career.
Q6: Would you recommend an apprenticeship to someone leaving school? And if yes, any particular reasons why?
I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to a school leaver, as it is a valuable option to take, if they do not want to go to college full time. This way, they gain the experience of working along with the tutorage of a college.
Q7: You already have a fantastic job with the Premier League Champions, so why continue your education by studying for the FdSc?
I have continued my studying from the NVQ 3 on to the FdSc sportsturf because I have the drive and ambition to push myself further; I’m not stopping at the FdSc and moving on to the BSc (Hons) sportsturf and management. With this, I hope to eventually move on to become a grounds manager or another job within the industry that will challenge me and make use of these qualifications and develop my knowledge further.
Q8: Did the fact that the FdSc is online make a difference to your decision to study the course?
If the course was not run online I would not have had the chance to take part in the course, and the same
applies to the BSc (Hons); as I work full-time, the option to go to college was not possible for me. This is evident to see from my fellow students on my course, where we all either work full- time or live at other ends of the country, or even abroad, like America. With the college running an online course, this opens the opportunity for a lot more people to complete this course and increase the standard within the industry.
Q9: Is there any particular reason you chose to study with Myerscough College?
Myerscough is the college most sporting facilities link up with in the North West area, and this was exactly what happened when I was at Blackburn Rovers. Since then, I have found Myerscough to be a very good college that is there to encourage you to push on to the next step. I have found this with all my tutors throughout my time studying with them.
Q10: What’s the best and worst thing about being a groundsman?
For me, the best thing about being a groundsman is the fact that I get to spend my days working outside and not stuck indoors, basically getting my hands dirty. The worst, for me, is sitting on a tractor all day with a verti- drain on the back, as I find this very mind-numbing.
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 PC 129
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148