Groundskeeper Chats

Minnesota Twins Head Groundskeeper, Larry DiVito joins us for his second Groundskeeper Chat at SFMA in Fort Worth. Larry joined us to recount his shock at winning the 2025 Dick Erickson Award the previous year and how he was preparing for his big speech! Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat:

• SFMA Annual Awards
• Reflecting on his career
• His crew and culture
• What's Next?

A little bit more about our guest...

Larry DiVito has been with the Minnesota Twins since 2009 and was one of Pioneer Athletics 2024 Pioneers in the Field.

Bryan Sheetz left behind the classroom for the week during the SFMA conference and joined Meg for his first Groundskeeper Chat. Sheetz is the Landscaping & Turf Management Teacher at Thomas Dale High School  in Chester, VA. Here's what you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat: 

• One Man Band Bryan Sheetz 
• Branding + Social Media + New Gen. 
• SFMA National Field of the Year 
• Turf credentials for high school students 
• Landscape side gig to sports turf to Thomas Dale Turf Program 

A little bit more about our guest... 
Bryan Sheetz pioneered the school's first turf management program starting 5 years ago. After teaching elementary music teacher for 19 years, Sheetz pivoted to Thomas Dale High Turf. 

Howdy! Arizona born and raised, Jared Olson has traveled the world through turf and now calls Texas home. Jared is the Director of Grounds with Austin FC and joined Meg in Fort Worth for his first #GroundskeeperChat. Here's what you'll hear in this week's episode: 

• The Olson Turf Origin Story 
• The many walks of life within the turf industry 
• What makes Austin FC home 
• MLS Grounds Crew of the Year + MLS Best Field 
• Soccer in 2026! 

Jared Olson is the Director of Grounds with Austin FC but has had his foot in every corner of the industry, soccer, football, baseball, track, field construction and more! 

Fan favorite and Certified Sports Field Manager, Sun Roesslein joins Meg in Fort Worth during the SFMA annual conference to pick up where the two left off. Sun shares an exciting career update while diving into the power of networking, community, and navigating career transitions in the sports turf industry. Here's what you'll hear on this week's #GroundskeeperChat:

• Our reoccurring Weston Appelfeller plug 
• The strength of networking and community 
• Career changes + transitions 
• Denver Summit FC 

A little bit more about our guest... 
Sun Roesslein is the Director of Grounds for the Denver Summit FC, SFMA Past President and long-time advocate for the sports turf industry. 

Our annual catch up with one of our favorite Arizona duos, Leah and Mike from ASU! The pair joins us to recap some of the 2025 season highlights and a look at what's coming down the line. Here's what you'll hear in this week's SFMA episode: 

• ASU's football season highlights 
• Crew culture and morale 
• Softball season outlook 

A little bit more about our guests... 
Leah Withrow is an Assistant Field Manager at Arizona State University overseeing the softball complex. Mike Kuhn is an Assistant Field Manager at Arizona State University overseeing football, soccer and lacrosse. 

Troy Crawford joined us in his home state to update us on his next adventure! With more than 30 years of experience with teams like the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and FC Dallas, Troy is bringing his talents to the new Texas Health Mansfield Stadium as their Director of Grounds. Here's what you'll hear from our latest SFMA episode:

- Troy's Turf Origin Story

- 30 years with some of the Texas greats

- What's next?

- Troy's turf family tree

A little bit more about our guests...

Troy Crawford led the Moneygram Soccer Park as the Director of Grounds before taking his latest gig with Texas Health Mansfield Stadium. Crawford has been a fixture in the Texas turfgrass industry and at the national level for decades and continues to make an impact through mentorship, innovation and passion.

Travis Sales, Director Parks Recreation and Animal Services at City of Rockwall, joined us in Fort Worth to help bring the Texas energy to our SFMA series!

Ava Veith has lived many lives already in the turf industry. Her current gig has her at Penn State University working alongside Chase Straw. Ava's turned her passion for sports into turf during her time at Virginia Tech and the sky is the limit! Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat: 

• Soccer player to precision turf management 
• Falling in love with the research 
• Tech to KC to Penn State 
• What's on the horizon for Ava Veith 

A little bit more about our guest... 
Ava Veith was a soccer student athlete when she was contemplating what her future might look like without soccer. She stumbled onto her path and the rest is history. She finished her masters at Virginia Tech and is now going after her Ph. D. student at Penn State University 

Dynamic duo Brad and Colby with The University of Houston opened our live show in Fort Worth with a bang! They brought the energy and stories to help us kick off our SFMA series. Here's what you'll hear in this week's #GroundskeeperChat: 

• Check-in with Brad 
• Wrangling Colby into the chat 
• The Dynamic of the crew and culture 
• What's to come in 2026 for the UH Cougar Crew 

A little bit more about our guests...
Brad Finn is the Assistant Athletics Director for Grounds, Facilities & Events at the University of Houston, Colby Murray is the Director of Grounds, Facilities & Events at The University of Houston.

The final power couple of our SFMA series is Nick McKenna and Holly Kasperbauer joined Meg in Fort Worth. The two down minutes after finishing their session to rehash the content, the takeaways and much more in this week's chat. Here's what you'll hear in this #GroundskeeperChat: 

• Holly's origin story, rooted in turf 
• Holly & Nick in the classroom 
• Generational Intelligence: Leadership for a Multigenerational Workforce session recap 

A little bit more about our guests... 

Nick McKenna has been the Assistant Athletic Director at Texas A&M since 2011. He worked as a sports field manager for the university directly out of undergrad before spending time at Virginia Tech and then ultimately returning home to be an Aggie! Holly J. Kasperbauer joined the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University as assistant director of the Public Service Leadership Program but has a background in the agriculture and turfgrass sciences.