ON-FIELD ARTISTRY

The Sports Field Management Association ( SFMA ) announced the winner of the 2023 SFMA Mowing Patterns Contest . The winning design was submitted by Dakota Steele , district groundskeeper at Fairfield Community Schools in Goshen , Indiana . The winning “ V pattern ” was created for the opening round of Indiana high school football sectionals at Fairfield Community Schools . SportsField Management magazine recently asked Steele about the winning design .

SportsField Management ( SFM ): Please tell us about yourself , your crew and the fields / facilities you manage . Dakota Steele : I was a Sport Management studentathlete at Manchester University from 2014-2018 . After graduation I became assistant track and field / cross country coach at the university for two years until January 2020 . I noticed the Fort Wayne Tincaps opened up their internships for the season , and I was intrigued by the grounds crew opportunity that was available . As a fan going to Tincaps games in the past , the field work was always what I admired when going to Parkview Field . Not long after I started in Fort Wayne , COVID shut down the Minor League Baseball season , and I was no longer needed for the grounds internship due to the circumstances . I was determined to be in Fort Wayne , so I stayed on as a general intern for the summer assisting in odd jobs . That fall I was offered the cleaning supervisor position and took on that role through the

10 SportsField Management | February 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com