RISING STAR

Leah Withrow , head groundskeeper for the Reno Aces , is one of the most recognizable young professionals in the sports field management industry — in part due to her presence on social media .

“ It really is just a product of me being a millennial ,” said Withrow . “ I think we just naturally post stuff about our lives . It ’ s a way to connect with people .”

When she was first getting started in the sports field management industry , following other sports field management professionals on social media gave Withrow an inside look at other field managers , their fields , operations and day-to-day procedures . She soon realized the reach of social media and how valuable it could be .

“ It was a cool tool that I ran with ,” she said . “ As I got further into this job and got more recognizable , I realized how much it meant to young people . For young people , this is their only way of communicating . So , if I want to get them into it , I have to communicate with them and I have to speak their language . It ’ s how I got my interns the last few years , and how I ’ ve been getting part-time staff . Being able to connect with young people , that is the best way to do it .”

Withrow ’ s social media platforms have also helped her serve as an inspiration and mentor to others .

“ I go to SFMA Conference , and I have young people from various universities come up to me ,” she said . “ Or , when I worked the Little League Softball World Series and got to interact with college students and high school students . To see them be so into it and excited to meet me is a weird mentorship / leadership thing I didn ’ t know I was doing . So that is a point of pride for me .”

Added Withrow , “ I didn ’ t want anyone to look up to me , but it ’ s cool to see that me just doing my job day to day is influencing younger people — especially girls — to get into this industry . To be able to connect with the next generation is the best feeling and the most rewarding part of the job .” Social media also allows Withrow to pursue another goal . “ My life goal is to make sports field management a known career ,” she said . “ My goal is to get rid of the questioning of my degree , of my profession , of my job , of

my whole industry . I want it to be seen and recognized by all of the sports we work under . Social media is a great avenue to do that . You are able to show all of your science practices and all of your maintenance practices , and people across all sports and all organizations are recognizing you as a professional every time you act as a professional on these social media platforms .

“ So , that ’ s a huge platform for me to push that issue , because most of my peers are true professionals in every sense of the word ,” Withrow added . “ I wish the world would recognize them more . I know this is a very behind-the-scenes job and a very thankless job . We don ’ t do it for praise , but to be recognized and understood is where I see this industry heading .”

Withrow grew up in a small town an hour south of Reno , Nevada — not far from where her professional career has taken her . “ I ’ m kind of close to home now ; my parents still live there ; my family and friends still live there .” Intent on seeing something else and doing something else , Withrow originally toured North Dakota State University ( NDSU ) with a goal of studying Mechanical Engineering . But looking through the list of majors at NDSU , Withrow saw sports field management .

“ I thought that was cool , because I love sports and I love being outside ,” she said . “ I grew up with Tahoe as my backyard . My family skied all winter and hiked , camped and fished all summer . The outdoors were a big part of my life . I like hands-on work .”

During spring break of her senior year of high school , while visiting her grandparents in Phoenix , Withrow took a chance and visited the comments and questions page of the Arizona Diamondbacks ’ website .

38 SportsField Management | October 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com