“ Julie Kessler is redefining the future of sports field management through innovation, leadership, and a relentless commitment to excellence. Her forwardthinking approach is advancing best practices across the profession while elevating athlete performance and safety. As a female field manager at the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’ s soccer team, Julie serves as a powerful role model, breaking barriers and inspiring the next generation of sports turf professionals.”
RISING STAR AWARDS
Photo by Max Esterhuizen
Julie Kessler
Manager, Sports Turf and Grounds, CPKC Stadium
JULIE KESSLER’ S STAR HAS been on the rise since she was first introduced to turfgrass management less than a decade ago as a student at Brentsville District High School in Nokesville, Virginia.
“ I kind of just ended up in it,” said Kessler.“ Drew Miller started teaching at my high school my sophomore year. It was originally an ag program, and he came in and made it his own. A lot of my peers were raving about the class.”
Kessler joined the turf class during her junior year, and carried that over with two turfgrass classes during her senior year at Brentsville.
“ Drew is an incredible teacher,” she said.“ He gave us a lot of freedom to learn and grow.”
As a result, Kessler experienced early success at Brentsville as a member of the student-led crew that earned the 2018 SFMA Field of the Year award in the Schools and Parks Football category.
From Brentsville, she applied to the agriculture technology program at Virginia Tech, which is a two-year accelerated program that offers a focus in turfgrass and also requires an internship.
“ I went back to Drew when I was looking for an internship, and he suggested the Pittsburgh Steelers,” she said.“ So that’ s what I ended up doing. I didn’ t know a whole lot when I went there, but once I had my summer there, I was like,‘ Okay, this is actually something I could see myself doing.’”
While at Virginia Tech, Kessler also worked with the university grounds crew and gained experience in football, soccer, softball and baseball.
After earning her associate degree in Landscape Turf Management from Virginia Tech in 2022, Kessler stayed in Blacksburg to work at a golf course while taking summer classes. She then pursued her bachelor’ s degree in Agribusiness Management from Virginia Tech.
“ The four-year turf degree had a lot of similarities with the two-year, so I wanted to add the business part of it,” she said.
During that time, Kessler was a member of the 2022 inaugural all-women grounds crew for the Little League Softball World Series, where she met Maritza Martinez from St. Louis City Soccer Club.
“ I ended up interning with St. Louis City,” said Kessler.“ It was really far from home, but I like soccer, and decided I would like to stay in soccer after I graduate. After that, I went back to school and was working at the golf course and with the Virginia Tech grounds crew. Then, my last summer, I worked at another golf course near home while taking some more summer classes. I graduated in December 2024.”
At the beginning of 2025, Kessler attended the SFMA Conference, were she met Mira( Emma) Adamek who was looking to hire someone to work at CPKC Stadium, home of the Kansas City Current. Kessler had follow-up interviews with Adamek and Jerad Minnick, vice president of sports turf and grounds for the Kansas City Current.
“ They both are just awesome and they both wanted what was best for me,” said Kessler.“ Their mindset is that we’ re all learning every day, and that really drew me to here. Plus, I think it’ s really awesome what the organization is doing. It’ s the first stadium purpose-built for a women’ s professional team. They have a team in Denmark now, and then they set up an academy in Brazil, all in an effort to elevate women’ s soccer.”
Kessler was hired, and began work at CPKC Stadium in March of 2025. Once again, she found early success as part of the crew that earned the 2025 SFMA Field of the Year award in the Professional Soccer category.
According to her peers,“ Kessler has embraced industry-leading technology and innovation to drive data-informed decision-making. Her commitment to continuous improvement has helped create one of the safest, most aesthetically impressive playing surfaces in professional soccer, enhancing both player performance and fan experience.”
Said Kessler,“ Field of the Year was a group effort. It was me, Mira, and Trina Strayer working on that together, and it was really cool for us and everyone here.”( Note: Adamek has since left CPKC Stadium, and is now director of grounds for the Boston Legacy.)
Now, as Manager of Sports Turf and Grounds at CPKC Stadium, Kessler oversees the stadium and coordinates with Minnick on maintenance practices and overall scheduling.
“ Jerad comes up with the plan, and then we discuss and plan out what days to do what,” she said.“ Trina and I complement each other and work really closely together on everything here. Some of Trina’ s tasks now include collaborating with others in our company to schedule private events that may want field access, as well as working with people at the training facility to plan out field usage schedules.”
According to Kessler, working at CPKC Stadium has given her the freedom to think on her own.
“ Jerad is very open to suggestions; and that has been really good for me being a year into my career, helping me grow and develop problem-solving skills,” she said.“ That supports me and motivates me, especially when we have interns and other students who come through the Brentsville program or Virginia Tech who reach out to me for advice. People like Mira did that for me, and I want to be able to do that for others.”
In addition to the support Kessler has received at CPKC Stadium, she credits Miller with being the biggest influence on her career as her mentor at every stage. She also leans on friends who are in golf or similar fields; and is thankful for the guidance and support she has been provided by her professors at Virginia Tech – including Dr. Dan Sandor and Dr. Mike Goatley.
According to her peers, Kessler’ s success at CPKC Stadium showcases what is possible when organizations invest in grounds management professionals and provide them with the tools and resources needed to innovate.
Besides the Field of the Year wins, Kessler is most proud to have been a part of the first all-women’ s grounds crew for the Little League Softball World Series.
“ That experience really had a big impact on my career because I went there not knowing what to expect, and I didn’ t know many of the people who were there,” she said.“ By the end of the week, I felt so thankful I had the opportunity to go there, while also being inspired by each woman I had met, who are in different stages of their careers. We came together, supported each other, and made friendships that will last a lifetime. That experience is a big part of what made me want to continue in the turf industry and continue bringing awareness to the industry for other women or young girls who play the sports for which we manage the fields.
“ Seeing how far that has come since the first year is amazing,” Kessler added.“ Then being able to be here in the position that I’ m in with the opportunities that I’ ve been given and being able to work with multiple women is really awesome. Our organization is so unique.” According to Kessler, match days are the best part of the job.“ Even when you’ ve had a hard week or a hard month, you get to match day and you’ re just like,‘ Wow, this is so awesome because of the fans, the team, all of it.’ And the people I work with are amazing,” she said.“ It doesn’ t feel like work. The relationships between all of us are just different than anywhere I’ ve been before.”
When not at work bringing the pitch at CPKC Stadium to an award-winning level, Kessler enjoys spending time with family and friends, and being outdoors – hiking, fishing and riding horses. She also has been learning to bake, and enjoys making things from scratch.
On the job, Kessler hopes to convey a leadership style that allows others to learn and grow. Her advice to those considering a career in sports field management or just starting out is to try everything.
“ I did golf, football and soccer,” she said.“ That’ s probably the best thing you can do. If you try it and you don’ t like it, at least you know. Otherwise you might go down the road and wonder if you would have liked it better than whatever you’ re doing.”
What Kessler is doing is catching the attention of her peers, having earned multiple nominations for the Rising Star Award.
“ I was really surprised,” she said.“ This wasn’ t even on my radar. Mira was here last year when she won it, so I knew it was a thing. But I called my mom right away, and was like,‘ Can you believe this?’ And the fact that it is from my peers is really cool because I don’ t spend a lot of time posting about what I’ m doing. I’ m just doing my thing and trying to be better. It means a lot that other people recognize that. It shows that I am doing something good, and it inspires me to be a better leader and hopefully help others that I meet along the way. It makes me want to be the best I can be.”
WHAT THEIR NOMINATOR HAD TO SAY:
“ Julie Kessler is redefining the future of sports field management through innovation, leadership, and a relentless commitment to excellence. Her forwardthinking approach is advancing best practices across the profession while elevating athlete performance and safety. As a female field manager at the first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’ s soccer team, Julie serves as a powerful role model, breaking barriers and inspiring the next generation of sports turf professionals.”