PROFILE conducting extension site visits . Those site visits are my favorite part of the job . Research is 20 percent . I have conducted several natural grass projects since coming to ISU , including learning more about how wetting agents can help with infield skin management , humic fertilizers , cultivation trials , and cultivar testing to name a few projects . In terms of teaching , I teach Hort 453 ( Sports Turf Management ) Hort 454 ( Turfgrass Irrigation ) and Hort 291A ( Turfgrass Professional Development ). I also advise 25 to 30 of our students , and I ’ m a co-advisor with Dr . Nick Christians of the ISU Turf Club .
SFM : What trends are you seeing with regard to today ’ s students , and what is the key to getting young people interested in the sports field management side of the turfgrass industry ?
Thoms : I see more students who were in sports trying to stay near the game and wanting to manage athletic fields . We need to continue to promote it to anyone who is willing to listen . We have been lucky here in that in my time at ISU , both Tim Van Loo , CSFM , and Josh Tvrdik ( ISU field managers ) have been willing to help
sportsfieldmanagementonline . com January 2022 | SportsField Management
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