INDUSTRY RESOURCES
RECEPTION, GROWTH AND LEGACY The book was initially published in 1999 by Ann Arbor Press, and early reaction was fantastic. The authors were soon offered a contract to write three additional books, including“ Baseball and Softball Fields: Design, Construction, Renovation and Maintenance,” which is still in print today.
The contract for the books was eventually sold to John Wiley & Sons publishing, which soon moved forward with a second edition of the book that now included involvement and review from STMA.
According to Goatley, the book quickly became an important tool in preparation for the Certified Sports Field Manager( CSFM) exam.
“ Through my engagement as an STMA board member, I was able to tell people that we’ ve got a one-stop shop that you can have as a reference, and is as complete as anything that’ s out there,” he added.“ The really cool thing about this book is how comfortable people are coming up and talking to us about what’ s in there, and giving us ideas and feedback. That has been a great way to meet a lot of people and to have that connection. A lot of those people have had that book now for close to 30 years since the first edition.”
And although the agronomic strategies have for the most part remained the same throughout the subsequent editions, technological changes and other industry advancements drove the need for updates.
“ There would be new chemistries, new fertilizers, different release characteristics, new technology and new ways to deliver irrigation,” said Goatley.“ We were always looking for ways to improve, update, and bring something new to the table.”
Added Krans,“ The industry drives innovation, and one example is synthetic turf, which was not included in the first edition. As synthetic turf gained popularity on sports fields, rather than excluding it, we said we need to be inclusive such that the book would fit not only the people with the natural turf, but those who manage synthetic turf.”
According to Krans, as the skills of sports field managers improved and the industry grew, the authors continued to keep up to make the“ blue book” more complete.
Said Goatley,“ It was always evolving as an industry. So, how could we come up with a resource that would match where this thing is going?”
According to Krans, much of the success of the book was about timing.
The authors:( left to right) J. Michael Goatley, Jr., James C. Puhalla, and Jeffrey V. Krans
“ When we met Jim, the time was right; towns and cities were building sportsplexes, soccer was getting big, and the industry was growing,” he said.“ It all came together, not by purpose, but more by accident; and we took the opportunity that was presented to us.”
Added Puhalla,“ It’ s by accident, but it’ s a lot of hard work, too. We gave people something different, and something that they could talk about.”
UPDATED FOR TODAY’ S SPORTS FIELD MANAGER Now people will be talking about the fourth edition of“ Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance,” which features international topics, additional sports, a refined pest management section, and information about technological advancements.
“ We’ ve got a lot of new topics that will be interesting to not just people in this country, but all over the world,” said Puhalla.
20 SportsField Management | May 2026 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com