Winning teacher at Brentsville knows how to manage his turf

Teachers take pride in their classrooms. Cleaning, dusting and decorating to provide the prime learning atmosphere for the students.

Andrew Miller, the turf management teacher at Brentsville District High School, took that effort to the next step when he and his students cut an award-winning design on the Brentsville football and soccer field.

He is the winner of the “Mowing Patterns Contest” award by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) in Lawrence, Kansas.

The theme this year was “Nation’s Largest Classroom,” and Miller confirmed that the stadium at Brentsville District High School “is our largest classroom,” Miller said. “We took different ideas from different kids,” he said. “It’s really for the students…[it] lets them be creative.”

His classes created a design on the field that looks like a cross between the Greek alphabet letter “Phi,” and a Star Wars fighter jet. That design is placed in the middle, and the rest of the field features diagonal stripes and curves that adhere to the surrounding track.

Miller is in his third year of teaching turf management. He was previously awarded when they “painted the end zones patriotic,” he said.

The turf management program at Brentsville, where they teach the ins and outs of maintaining the perfect field, has gone from 70 students a few years ago to over 200 students this year. It’s the only school in Prince William County that offers the turf management classes, a schools spokesperson said.
Miller was selected via a Facebook voting contest for his “intricate design at Donald Lambert Field, home to the Brentsville High School Tigers.”

Earlier in the year, Miller also won STMA’s annual “Stars and Stripes” contest with his “Friday Nights in Small Town USA” field design. This pride in the field resonates down to the players too, he thinks.
“I always say we’re the home team advantage,” he added.

The STMA holds this national contest every year to allow the turf management programs to “showcase their field,” said Nate Rubinstein of STMA. “It gives the teachers “an ability to be creative with their work,” Rubinstein said.

“We’re constantly impressed by the imaginative and aesthetically pleasing designs our members create while maintaining safe playing surfaces,” says Kim Heck, STMA’s chief executive. “This contest offers an opportunity to showcase some of these incredible works of art.”

“Andrew and his students had an extraordinary 2019 winning Stars and Stripes and now the Mowing Patterns Contest.  As the Program Advisor, he continues to increase awareness within the community and the sports field industry with his profound designs,” said Heck continued. “His creativity sets a tremendous example for the young up-and-coming sports field managers in the Brentsville program.”

Miller has also been with pro sports teams. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in turfgrass management from Virginia Tech, he worked on the school’s grounds crew before moving on to the New York Mets.

Following his stint in New York, Miller spent time in Pittsburgh at PNC Park with the Pirates before transitioning to Heinz Field to work for the Steelers. He then earned his Masters in Agricultural Education from Virginia Tech and has been shaping leading students in the Brentsville program since.

“That shows them the opportunity for growth,” Miller said.

Miller will be included in a future issue of SportsTurf, STMA’s official monthly publication. His design will also have a custom poster featured at the 2020 STMA Conference & Exhibition, January 13-16, in West Palm Beach, Fla.

As for the lawn outside his house in Virginia? The creativity stays at the school apparently. “It’s fine, not an incredible lawn,” Miller said.

Last year’s winner was Kyle Calhoon, Head Groundskeeper for the Hartford Yard Goats at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford, Conn. Before the Yard Goats, Calhoon had stints with the San Francisco 49ers and New York Yankees, among others.