Big-league lessons on a Little League field for AHS and GVHS turf students

Students from Atwater and Golden Valley high schools Turfgrass and Sports Field Management classes were able to gain some hands-on experience to help renovate the City of Atwater’s Little League fields at Osborn Park. 

 

Students from both programs worked together alongside industry professionals, including former Oakland Athletics head groundskeeper Clay Wood to install base anchors, home plate and build a pitchers mound. They also helped slope the field to help drainage when it rains.

 

Atwater High ag teacher Dave Gossman says the Turfgrass and Sports Field Management program continues to grow. Atwater High is believed to be the first school to offer that program in the state. Both Atwater and Golden Valley have had students go on to get jobs in the field.

 

“Every school has athletic fields, every community has golf courses, athletic fields, parks, and then you move on up to the colleges, universities, and the pros, so, being an ag teacher and teaching horticulture, to me, this is an untapped niche in in that science,” said Gossman. “There is a tremendous need for employees and people to go into the business. The opportunity to expose students to the job, let them know that there are plenty of jobs out there, and we've had success with that.”

 

Gossman and Golden Valley ag teacher Kevin Magill have been able to take students on trips to learn from ground crews at MLB spring training facilities in Arizona. They’ve made a couple trips to the University of Southern California where students were able to work the grounds crews there to prepare the Los Angeles Coliseum for the Trojans’ season openers the past two years.

 

Magill is taking 90 of his students to Oracle Park on Tuesday to learn from the San Francisco Giants grounds crew.

 

“We went from like 22 students the first year to now this year we have close to 90 kids in two classes, and kids are just wanting to join partly because they see us doing stuff,” Magill said. 

 

Magill says a project like renovating the Atwater Little League fields is a great opportunity for students to work in a different setting and use new tools.

 

“We're on our fields almost every day right now, we just finished overseeding, and then to come on a field like this, which is a completely different setup, and doing jobs that we don't typically do on a day-to-day basis, like putting in bases, home plate, installing base anchors, it’s just not something they get to see every day,” Magill said.

 

The students also got to tap into the knowledge of Wood, who worked as the Oakland A’s  head groundskeeper for 31 years before the team moved to Sacramento in preparation for a permanent move to Las Vegas. Wood was out in the dirt measuring bases and the pitcher mound. 

 

“I've been fortunate to do this the last couple of years when I was let go by the A’s,” Wood said. “I ‘ve been able to work with other people and share my experiences that I've had and knowledge, things that I've gained over the years. It's pretty rewarding to actually have some time to do that these field days.”

 

Atwater High junior Jose Perez says it’s amazing to have a longtime professional out helping them. Perez says he just tries to soak up all the information he can because he hopes to pursue a job in the industry after high school.

 

“It’s really nice because, although our teacher tries his best to do what he can with resources from online and books,” Perez said. “It's better to be able to hear it from someone who has been doing this for 30-plus years. He puts it in perspective better than our teacher can translate it from online or a textbook to us.”

 

Golden Valley senior Gregory Hennagan says it’s great to be able to take some of the stuff they learned this week use it going forward. “We can take this back to our schools and apply it to our programs,” Hennagan said.”We don't necessarily do a lot of replacing mounds, but we're also leveling this field, and our field does need a little bit of leveling, so us using the equipment that they have here, like the big tiller and the dragger, it just kind of shows us what equipment we could use and incorporate into our program as well.”

 

Gossman says the time spent working hands-on in a real world environment and spending time with industry professionals is time well spent for the students. “We appreciate the school and the district for allowing us the opportunity to take time out of school to bring students here because I think this is the best education,” Gossman said.”They're learning from experts and it's hands-on. They’re not just watching. They’re out here doing it. They are contributing to a meaningful community project that will benefit local youth for years to come.”

 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.