A July Tuesday Morning

Today’s outing took me to the Robins Campus, which accommodates much of our athletic program on a spacious tract on Blair Road in Eastern Goochland County.

 

Judging by the looks of the place – expansive verdant fields and healthy, well-coiffed landscaping – you’d never guess that we’d experienced a recent hot, dry spell, which ended, thankfully, with a rainstorm two nights earlier that brought cooler temperatures.

 

I first checked with Jesse Garrant, long-time member of the physical plant staff who’s spent most of his weekdays at Robins the past seven years.

 

“What’s going on?” I inquired.

 

“Just out here doing the work,” he said with his customary smile. “Getting the fields cut. Weeds. You name it. We do it. All the stuff that needs to be done in the trails. It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun. I love doing it.”

 

Note the “we.” He’s part of a team, headed by Allison Moyer, that’s responsible for keeping the grounds on both campuses looking sharp.

 

“What else do you all do?” I continued.

 

“A whole lot of stuff,” he answered. “Fertilize. Aerate. Get the fields looking good and ready for school. Trim trees. Keep the shop clean. Clean the mowers up. Get them ready for the next day.”

 

Upkeep at Robins is no small task. There are nine natural turf fields plus baseball and softball diamonds. Jesse is responsible for cutting six of the locations each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Josh Epley cuts the other five.

 

This was an off day with a gentle breeze wafting across the campus and the temperature in the low 80’s. There was no grass to cut. Garrant, who drives each day from his home in Sandston, was busy cleaning the five mowers and straightening up the maintenance shop.

 

“You’ve been here a while,” I said. “You know the place like the back of your hand. What brings you back each day, especially the ones like last week when we had 100-degree temperatures and high humidity?”

 

Jesse just smiled.

 

“I love doing it,” he said. “I put my head phones on, listen to music, do what I have to do. Try to beat the sun. Sometimes, it gets real hot out there, but we still have to get the job done. Drink a lot of water and Gatorade. You see me sometimes on my mower with my big umbrella that keeps the heat off my head. That’s how I manage.”

 

“So you just deal with it?” I said.

 

“Yeah,” he replied with a laugh. “Just deal with it.”

 

My next stop was the training room where Jason Engle was at his computer.

 

“What do trainers during the summer when there isn’t much activity in the training room? I asked.

 

“Right now, I’m working on a lot of physical forms,” he explained. “Getting in paperwork, making sure it’s all complete, corresponding with parents about anything that needs to be corrected or filled in.”

 

On this day, there were tennis and field hockey camps in progress as well almost constant activity in the Kathy Watkinson Ivins Sports Performance Center. The training room action, thankfully, has been slow.

 

“Kids will randomly pop in for nicks and bruises,” Jason continued. “Nothing usually too bad as far as sports injuries in the summer. We did have a crab bite yesterday. That was different.”

 

“Didn’t happen here, I hope,” I said.

 

“No,” he said. “Somewhere much more fun.”

 

Down the hall, Will O’Brien, our associate athletic director and strength and conditioning coach, was greeting a slew of folks reporting for his next session.

 

“Our kids the opportunity to come out and work on their physical ability so when they come to the fall, they’re ready to perform at their highest level. A lot of new faces, which is exciting. A lot of great energy. We have a little buzz right now. We’ll try to capture some of this enthusiasm.”

 

Outside, Jenny Lindner was directing the hockey camp for 21 Middle School-aged girls.

 

When I ventured by, she and her associates Ellie Fleming and Brooks Doxey were applying another layer of sunscreen while the girls relaxed in the shade of the building, taking a break, rehydrating. May we all get to grow up in a red, white, and blue little town… – the country anthem compliments of Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw – blared from the speakers.

 

“We work on a lot of individual skills,” Jenny said. “If they can walk away from here passing better, dribbling better, playing a little better one-on-one defense, that’s good. That’s what I’m hoping for. They get as many touches on the ball as possible.”

 

“You’ve caught a break from the weather,” I observed.

 

“Thank goodness,” Jenny said. “Last week was so hot. This week, we’re off to a good start.”

         -- Weldon Bradshaw