The New World After COVID-19 (Or, My Retirement Trial)

July 30, 2020 · Sports Labs

I have been asked to write another article for our Pitch Matters section following my release from furlough to work in Portugal assisting UEFA in a new layout of the Champions League Final setup, so I will take this opportunity to share with you how important this is to me. For those who know me, I am an idiot (in a good way), a happy person, dedicated, I love my job, and what the world has to offer in terms of my profession. I love my kids and wife, probably more when I am away! This trial retirement period has made me realize that I will never retire out of choice. I need to be working.

Meeting new people and trying new things in different countries is probably one of my little pleasures. Some of my closest friends call me a hedonist because I am always seeking pleasure and fun - like shark diving, walking with cheetahs, or jumping off the Auckland Tower in NZ. Sometimes it is the little things, like new foods in different countries, driving up to the mountains with friends in Iran, or practically everything I have done in India, an incredible place. I love the people there, and I have made some fantastic friends through my work.

I love to see people succeed; that is what gives me the greatest pleasure. It gets me emotional to think I have helped others in some way. I am taken by simple things such as receiving videos of proud groundsmen in India who are still using the basic techniques I taught them or news from teams in Egypt still producing fantastic pitches. I like knowing people like Christian Gambini and Marco Priora from Milan continue to do great things in Italy. I smile to think Tariel from Azerbaijan has moved on with SIS and is still producing amazing pitches. These are a few examples, but the list is so much longer.

Anyone that has worked with me knows it already - I can’t sit in the stands, I need to keep active. If I have an opportunity to cut a pitch with groundstaff, I will. Need fertilizing? No problem. A job of top dressing 10 tonnes by hand? Count me in. I need to be there, but I would rather contribute if I can, rater than just observe.

THE LOCKDOWN

The past three months have been tough for everyone, and I can relate to those that have PTSD or mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety during this period. I am devastated to learn there has been an increase in suicides. And I hate to hear that people have been made redundant. I have been fortunate enough to participate in a few seminars during the furlough. As I live on a small holding, I have been busy painting, carrying out general repairs, digging out the back of the house, and installing a new BBQ into the hill. I built the BBQ from stone I found around the hill, which keeps it blending in with the decor of the land around the house and mountain. I thought it would be a nice feature but I did not think it would take so long. From digging out 10 tonnes of the bank and the set up of an 8m x 5m eating area to building the BBQ with natural stone - it was a long process. Collecting stones included scaling the hill to find the right ones, and it probably took me the better part of two weeks.

I have been lucky because these things kept my mind busy. During the wet period, my head got to me, and I became a very unpleasant person around the house. I usually can control my head; however, the longer this furlough went on, the more my head started thinking negative thoughts, will work ever be the same? I know FIFA work stopped, I can’t explain why. Our last gig was in UAE for the Club World Cup, followed by the AFC finals. I want to think it was a great achievement. We worked with some fantastic groundsmen from both Desert Group and SIS and the legendary Matt Jones at Zayed Sports City. However, the way helped managed the delivery of the two tournaments with these professionals made me think, we got this, this was our benchmark for more tournaments to come. We still have the WhatsApp group going to this day. It began as a professional group, but once the business was done, we took the piss out of each other. We are all from different companies, and we brought everyone together under one banner. So needless to say, with tournament delivery dropping down, India is slowing down. My goal was to train Salil Khandeparker to be the local agronomist in India while we monitor remotely. (A great example of what Propitch want to achieve). With the Covid-19 affecting the industry so severely, I have often wondered if there would be enough work to keep us busy?

THE RETURN

As a consultant that spent practically two full years overseas (or working 124 hours, visiting five countries in one week) to almost nothing for three months, I have been raring to go again. Fortunately, the leagues have started playing and UEFA want to complete the Club finals. We have been the consultants for the Club finals for the past five years. It became an excellent opportunity for me to travel again. As much as I would have loved to do all the Club finals myself, we are a team at ProPitch, and between Ian and myself, we shared the venues. My two are the Champions League Final in Portugal and the Supercup Final in Hungary (Hungary I am an honorary member of the groundsman association over there, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to meet my friends in Hungary again) so I will be looking forward to meeting my friends there soon.

While my situation is improving, I am aware that many people are experiencing stressful situations with job losses and wage reductions. What I have to say next is not a sales pitch; it is something I firmly believe; if the industry embraces the technology that we are offering with our Propitch App, we can provide support. We can train your staff to carry out self-assessments to guide you in maintenance practices. Our app is free until the end of the year, and we aim to keep groundsmen working.

I will say one last, yet very significant thing. I have a great family, and my wife is supportive of the work that I do. She is the one that encouraged me to work in Azerbaijan seven years ago, which is where my passion for travel began (probably because she enjoys the peace when I am away). So a big thanks to her for making me the consultant that I am today.

For now, I am one happy pitch consultant; and let’s hope it stays that way!

Stay safe, Dean