Sports & Recreation Clubs
GETTING Personal...
Louis Maguire - TFI Friday; a cup of coffee, the Anglers Mail and Pitchcare magazine
Who are you? Louis Maguire, Head Groundsman at Kew and Ham Sports Association. I maintain the pitch at Hampton and Richmond Football Club as well.
Family status? In case the wife reads this, yeah, happily married haha.
Who’s your hero and why? Has to be the mighty Danny Murphy.When he played for Fulham FC he was an absolute rock in midfield for us.
What would you change about yourself? Nothing, I’m absolutely spot on perfect.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Has to be Haribo Starmix.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Progressing from starting off as an assistant to becoming head groundsman and maintaining facilities by myself using the knowledge I’ve learned along the way.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Nobody. I enjoy my own company as I lost my friends when they saw that I preferred to spend my Friday nights with a cup coffee, a copy of Pitchcare magazine and an early night, ready for a 7.00am start at work on Saturday morning for final prepping of the grass pitches.
Do you have any bad habits? Yeah, a big one, I bite my nails.
... or any good ones? I can maintain sports turf not bad.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? I try to switch off when I leave the ground. Isn’t life full off enough stress and worry these days?
What are you reading at the moment? The latest edition of Pitchcare, as I haven’t had time to sit and read it yet - plus my weekly Anglers Mail magazine.
What are your pet peeves? People who are unable to use a bin!
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Somewhere hot and peaceful.
What’s the best part of your job? When it comes to a Friday and everything has been cut, marked out and you look from a distance and everything looks mint and perfect. There’s no better feeling.
46 I PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015
… and the worst? When it has rained all week and the pitches haven’t had the attention they need and everything looks untidy.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To earn enough money to move away somewhere hot and quiet.
Favourite record, and why? Oh man, it has to be the mighty Gregory Porter ‘On my way to Harlem’.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? There’s only one person and that’s my wife; not many others would put up with me!
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Buy a nice house abroad somewhere.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Not to eat yellow snow!
What’s your favourite smell? Freshly cut grass.
What do you do in your spare time? All the spare time I get you’ll find me on the bank of a river fishing.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Where in B&Q is the line paint for the marker?
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Our Charterhouse Verti-Drain.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Funny, kind, thoughtful.
What talent would you like to have? To be a professional footballer.
All areas of the site are maintained to a high standard A full irrigation system is installed across the site
and all pitches were reseeded and topdressed. I am really pleased with outcome,” confirms Louis. “I am fortunate to be able to call on them at a moment’s notice, if required.” The soil profile is described
as very silty clay - due to the site’s proximity to the Thames, no doubt - which drains very well, according to Louis. There is a full irrigation system across the site which helps to ensure that the pitches remain in top condition. “Presentation is everything,” he states. “It goes a long way to making sure the members and users are happy.” The site’s location close to
central London means that adverse weather conditions are a rare occurrence; “so far, touch wood! At the end of the day, it’s not going to change when it comes to weekends, and the games still have to played, so the facilities need to be ready, one way or another.” With the playing fields solely maintained by Louis, he says that he simply takes each day as it comes. “I do what I
think needs doing to ensure all playing surfaces are ready and presentable for weekend games. Sometimes, it can be very hard work keeping on top of five pitches on my own, but I’ve managed it for three years, with good feedback, so I must be doing something right. I can’t complain.” Asked if he is compliant with current legislation, Louis replies; “yes, these days, I don’t think it is worth the risk to not be. There are always opportunities to further my knowledge with the set training days that the club put on.” Spraying for weeds is
undertaken once a year by an outside contractor and, apart from the occasional outbreak of red thread, the site does not suffer from any other diseases. Louis’s biggest problem is
urban foxes that appear to delight in digging holes and burrows. “I just have to go round and fill them back in,” he bemoans. “It was suggested to me that I should pee in them first to stop them coming back, but I think
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