Nicole McFadyen knew she wanted to work outside, far from a desk and the fluorescent lights of an office. So, she studied agriculture at Delaware Technical College and the University of Delaware. I was fascinated by the science of plants and how to care for them, she says. She had no idea it would lead her to a career in baseball.While taking a class in irrigation, she and her classmates visited Camden Yards in Baltimore and spoke with the head groundskeeper. At about the same time, she was working part-time at a golf course, mowing greens, fairways and tee boxes while learning to care for turf. Once she saw a Phillies-Braves game on TV and noticed the grass in Atlanta was cut the same way she was cutting fairways, she dug out the business card the Orioles head groundskeeper had given her, called and asked if he had any internships.He asked me a few questions about where I went to schl and whatnot, and then he said, Can you make it here within two weeks? We have a spot actually opening up. That was in 2001. From there she became an assistant groundskeeper for the Orioles. In 2004, she moved to Trenton, New Jersey, to become head groundskeeper of the Trenton Thunder, the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate. In November 2006, the Orioles brought her back as head groundskeeper.Today, McFadyen, 38, a member of the Sports Turf Managers Association, is one of only two women in the majors to be a head groundskeeper. (Heather Nabozny in Detroit is the other.) She and her crew take care of the playing surface at Camden Yards, a year-round job in which the weeks and days can be long during the season. A baseball fan and former softball player, originally from New Castle, Delaware, lives in Eldersburg, Maryland, about 25 miles from work, with her husband and 3-year-old son.A baseball career?I wanted to work in some sort of agricultural field, and I just kind of fell into this. Oh, you can do this and work in baseball? I love baseball, so the two things kind of lined up. But going into schl, it was just about agricultural and horticultural studies, things like that.Down to the minorsAfter some time in Baltimore I went to Trenton and people thought I was crazy. Youre already in the major leagues, why would you leave? But it was something I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this kind of job. I wanted to see if I wanted to stay in sports turf or if I wanted to get back into more of the agricultural side of my degree.Taking a chanceI knew that going to work for somebody like the Trenton Thunder, a Yankees affiliate, they would have high standards. ... That was my thought process. Theyre rebuilding their system, they have all these greats on their team, back in 2004, so if anybody needed to rehab, I wanted to make sure our field in Trenton was gd enough for those rehabs to come down, like a Derek Jeter, a Mariano Rivera, you name it. Plus the guys that were there when I was there -- Robinson Cano, Philip Hughes -- those guys were their top prospects. I was like, this needs to be maintained like a major league park for them. I didnt go into it with the notion I would ever come back to Camden Yards, though I thought it would be awesome to. I was just thinking if a position opens with the Yankees or Philadelphia or the Orioles, I would have two great ballparks on my resume. I was 23, 24. I was young and taking a chance.High standardsTrenton was a beautiful ballpark, I think a little bit neglected when I arrived. It was a little less attentive to detail than what I came from. At Camden Yards, were hand-picking sunflower seeds or any little itty-bitty trash on the field. So taking that to Trenton was one of the things I had to work on, to change the mindset.Back to BaltimoreI got this call from the Orioles and the assistant that called me said, Weve been following your career and we want you to come back and interview for the head groundskeeper position. Just that alone meant so much to me, just to be considered by this organization. And when I was offered the position I remember driving home from Baltimore and I had to pull over, and I cried. I was excited, ecstatic, never thought it would happen, but you take that little leap of faith and you can get a lot out of following your dreams.Being head groundskeeperThe main job is to provide a safe and playable surface for the athletes. Its very hard to do. You have grass, which takes up 90 percent of the field, and 10 percent of it is dirt and clay. You have to maintain that totally different than the grass. So working on that, plus Mother Nature, can be difficult at times. Were trying to make the field as perfect, as near perfect, as possible. And the aesthetics of everything, making sure our ballpark is represented the way that ownership would want, how it lks on TV, how it lks to fans.The Camden CrewI have two full-time assistants, year-round, and variable employees here from March 1 to Dec. 1 that consists of a crew of five. Then I have a game-day staff, and thats an 18-person tarp crew.Home-field advantageIts a little bit different than what home-field advantage was like in the past, where people would tilt base paths or raise the mound real high or have half the infield cut at a different length than the other half. We cant really do those things anymore, mandated by Major League Baseball as a whole. But as far as playability of the field, if (shortstop) J.J. Hardy likes his position soaked, then were going to soak it for him. If Ubaldo Jimenez likes the mound dry when he pitches, were not going to wet it.At the end of the day, you want to know you provided your team a really special place. ... I mean, the Orioles have one of the best home records in baseball. So yeah, youre not out there turning those double plays and making amazing catches in the outfield, but I know myself and my crew put a lot of hours on that field to be able to make that happen for the team.Pinching herself dailyBefore a game, Im out there, working on the field, and theres like 48,000 empty seats and youre alone on this two-acre turf, and its pretty incredible. Im very fortunate to have this position, no doubt. I dont even know how to put it into words that yeah, I still get that butterflied feeling in my stomach when I walk out there. Its my favorite part of the job, before the game, before the guys come out and take batting practice. Just prepping the field as perfect as you can. Its never perfect, so youre striving every day.Its all about the grassAll the grass here is 100 percent Kentucky bluegrass. Its ridiculously difficult, with the weather scenarios were faced with on a daily basis. ... We were just off a stint where for a whole month it was upper 90s and bluegrass likes 85 degrees or under. So the field stresses. Youre doing everything you can to cl that plant off by watering or getting some air circulation (with big fans).But you have baseball for eight months, so in March sometimes its a high of 55. So youre going to get different patterns of weather. If youre going to use a Bermuda or warm-season turf, youre really only getting the benefit of that turf from June through August. It would be dormant, or brown, in cl weather. ... It just benefits to manage the bluegrass for three months of heat.During the gameIm very fortunate to have an office that has a view of the field. Im in right field, right next to our giant roll-up dr that goes into our shop. Theres a little window so I can watch the game. It was built that way so the groundskeeper could have a gd sight on the infield and how thats playing as well as the rain situation. My main job is to watch the game and the playability of the game, but also to watch the radar for weather.Here comes my sonOn days I can bring him to the ballpark, I take advantage of that, because with my hours ... Ive cut back and done more delegating, but Im always here. On my days off, I really take time off and trust that my crew can handle anything. But yeah, when he can come to the ballpark, its a blast. He loves sliding on the warning track and he gets his little bat out with the balls and he runs around and likes to throw and catch. I take him for tractor rides and he likes sitting on the equipment. I cant wait until hes a little bit older.PrivilegedI remember when my dad first tk me to the Vet (Philadelphias Veterans Stadium) and I walked through (the tunnel) and I was like, Wow, this is so awesome. The greatest athletes play here. I still feel like that to this day, when I lk around as Im cutting the grass or working on the infield clay. Only now its at this beautiful ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. I am so privileged. Discount Adidas Nmd r1 . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. st-350-deals.html" target="_blank">Yeezy 350 Cheap Real .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. http://www.nmdsneakerssale.com/ . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. 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Englishman Matthew Southgate unashamedly admits he was in tears as he walked down the 18th hole at Royal Trn after ending a traumatic 12 months on a high.A year ago the 27-year-old had to watch the tournament on television after undergoing surgery having been diagnosed with testicular cancer.Having impressively bounced back with a fourth place at the Irish Open 10 months later he eclipsed that with a final-round 69 at the 145th Open Championship to secure a top-15 finish.Words cannot describe how that felt walking down that last hole, Southgate said. Sixty-nine is a hell of a score for me on a day which meant so much.I knew where all the family was and there was a big tear rolling down my face when I reached the front of the 18th green. Ive wanted to do that since I was 10 years old and to get out there and do it words cant describe.I always had the belief inside me Id get over the health issues and be back in an Open Championship but to do it within the year and to have my family here ... it is a big achievement for me.If you had asked me laast year Id have said it was possible for me to qualify but to finish up there comfortably in the top 20 no one would have had a ￡1 bet on that.ddddddddddddSouthgate managed to make his way through the three stages of qualifying schl at the back end of last season and he believes his illness has had a positive effect in some respects.I have got so much better psychologically as a golfer. I think it [cancer] has helped me as a person off the golf course, on the golf course not so much because I am so competitive, he added.Every day is a fight for me and when I walk to that first tee it is like a boxer getting in the ring -- I know I am going to get hit but I am going to hit just as hard back.Ive taken a few on the chin this week and thrown a gd few back and to finish under par in an Open Championship is something special. So for any youngsters out there who want to do it just go for it and stick with your dreams. ' ' '