INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
“ With the classes I teach , there are a lot of technical aspects , and a lot of hands-on learning ,” said Jakubowski . “ Trying to translate that into a distance format or a digital format was quite a challenge . So it was a matter of trying to figure out what I could do to engage students in digital way .” At the beginning of the pandemic , Jakubowski ’ s students had in-class teaching until Spring Break of 2020 , and , after that transitioned to online learning .
“ At first it was more traditional PowerPoint via Zoom , but then I knew I needed to do something more for the students — especially in irrigation classes — to find ways to work with them ,” he said .
Jakubowski reached out to Hunter Industries , which responded by providing irrigation components to help him create a more hands-on learning experience .
“ It was like Christmas ,” said Jakubowski . “ All of a sudden , I had seven or eight cases of materials sitting on my doorstep at home . It was valves and sprinklers and nozzles and all different things . So my challenge then was to send them to the students , and , in real time , have them dismantle them and we could go through the parts and pieces and have them kinesthetically learn that way . It was a way to engage them .”
Jakubowski converted his garage into a lab for online demonstration . “ I had to set up and build an irrigation system ,” he said . “ I put my laptop on a creeper — like for under a car — and I was on the ground in my garage doing different assembly techniques and sliding the laptop along with me .”
By fall of 2020 , students had the option to study from home or from class , so Jakubowski did a mixed mode with students in class and students at home .
Tim VanLoo , CSFM , D & K Products , winner of the George Toma Golden Rake Award , said he thinks people in the industry have embraced the challenges the past year has presented .
“ That ’ s what sports field managers do – they figure it out ,” he said .
Looking ahead , McNeal said she does her best to keep everybody ’ s spirits up .
“ We have a really good team , and not once have we had morale be super down or super low ,” she said . “ Budgets will be tight . We have some unknowns . We deal with what we ’ ve got and we make the best of it , and that ’ s what we are going to keep doing .” SFM
John Kmitta is associate publisher and editorial brand director of SportsField Management magazine .
Changing Career Paths
George Toma Golden Rake Award Winner Tim VanLoo , CSFM , sales consultant for D & K Turf Products , served as director of facilities and grounds at Iowa State University until the end of 2020 .
According to VanLoo , shifting career paths from the practitioner side of things to the commercial sector was a nerve-wracking decision .
“ The idea of doing something very different was scary ,” he said . “ That is what I wrestled with the most — leaving what I was familiar and comfortable with , and going into something that I know little about .
VanLoo ’ s advice to those wrestling with a similar decision is to make sure you are willing to step away . For him , his role and responsibilities at Iowa State had changed , which allowed him to reflect on whether he could step away from the job .
“ The answer ultimately became yes ,” he said . “ So my advice would be to just make sure you can .”
Dick Ericson Award , Marcus Dean , CSFM , Advanced Turf Solutions , who also made the transition from practitioner to the commercial side during his career , said it ’ s the same industry , but a different world .
“ You have different budget constraints you have to keep in mind when you are dealing with customers , and you might also not know what has or has not worked for them in the past ,” he said . “ There ’ s a whole lot more you have to think about and take into play .”
Dean added that , as a practitioner , even if he wasn ’ t at work , he was always planning for what ’ s next .
He added that when he first made the transition to the commercial side of the industry he felt lost and it took him a long time adjusting to having weekends free .
VanLoo hopes that the shift to the sales side of the business , and having more weekends free , will have some positive effects on his health and wellness .
“ My hope is that my life doesn ’ t revolve around events anymore ,” he said . “ And when it ’ s raining really hard or snowing outside , I might be paying attention to that weather pattern , but I might not be thinking about how much more work it ’ s going to cause me . I ’ m going to enjoy Saturdays in the fall a little bit differently .”
— John Kmitta sportsfieldmanagementonline . com March 2021 | SportsField Management
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