Winter Sports
Ben in discussion with Andy Croft and Paul Sheppard at Derby ...
on, which is a sign of a healthy, stiffened leaf blade.
Andy has established a robust end of season renovation programme to ensure the pitches get cleaned out and reseeded to give a new surface every year. Other work has seen the upgrading of drainage and irrigation systems, as the pitches at Oakwood dry out quickly, again due to being in an exposed location. At Ipswich, we have our own
renovation equipment, and spend a long summer carrying out renovations on all our thirteen pitches. Derby have a similar area, but have just spent more than double what we spend on renovations by having contractors carrying out the work. Finally, Laurence and I made our way south to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Compton training ground just a few miles away from their Molineux stadium. We arrived just in time to catch some lunch in the players canteen, before making our way out onto the training ground which, in recent years, has seen a lot of investment, especially during their time in the Premiership. Wayne Lumbard, the club’s Head
Groundsman, has been instrumental in transformingof the training ground pitches in recent years, along with buying essential maintenance equipment to make the job more efficient. The training ground is set out on two tiers, providing several full size pitches
... and Wayne Lumbard at Wolves
and a number of small areas for drills and rehabilitation work. There are two full size pitches on the lower tier with one mirroring the Fibrelastic pitch at the stadium, now complete with undersoil heating to help ensure that no training sessions are lost. Prior to having the undersoil heating system installed, the groundstaff were using frost covers to protect the pitch, much like we still do at Ipswich. However, when temperatures get to minus 4O
for the first team would be high on my recommendations. I’d also like to see an open plan layout, so that mowing could be simplified whilst also saving valuable time. Wayne’s budgets for his feeding
C over consecutive days, it often
leaves the ground unplayable, so the players then head down to the stadium to train, adding more wear. Since the system has been employed, no training takes place at Molineux. The top tier provides several training pitches for the academy sides and youth teams. Some of these pitches are also used by the local school, so there is never a day when any of the pitches are not in use.
There is a significant investment in football sundries such as goalposts, ball stop netting and coaching equipment. However, the key to success is the ability to get on with the job in hand and have the resources to deliver quality playing surfaces. Wolves’ training ground is going
through a transformation, much in the way I’d like ours to be developed at Ipswich. Artificial turf training areas and a Fibrelastic pitch with undersoil heating
programme for the two sand constructed pitches is more than double mine for all thirteen of our soil based pitches! He also used Molturf liquid carbohydrate, which is of interest to me, although it is something that will have to be worked into our budget. We popped across to Molineux to hear and see how well the Fibrelastic pitch was bearing up to the rigours of Championship football. Wayne said that he is very pleased with its performance, especially as he only has two small lighting rigs to encourage growth. His philosophy of doing what is right for the grass plant at the right time, along with a little and often approach when using any products and cultural practices, appears to be working well for him. I came away from our whistle-stop tour with a much better understanding of what will be required at Ipswich. I’d like to thank all of my colleagues for allowing me the time to visit their sites and, of course. Laurence for setting up all the visits and accompanying me on my tour. Now, I’ve got to sit down and write my own recommendations to present to the Ipswich management!”
Wolves’ impressive Sir Jack Hayward facility
Ben with the Wolves groundstaff at Molineux FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 PC 57
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