By: KIERSTEN FREEDMAN
Special to LongwoodLancers.com

It's 5 a.m. when his alarm rings. Soon after, he departs Oxford, North Carolina to make it to Farmville by 8 a.m. to start his day. Most people are still sleeping, but for Assistant Athletic Director for Athletics Facilities Alpha Jones, the work day has already begun.

It's an hour and a half drive to Longwood University, but Jones divides the time on the phone with his team of two people, preparing everyone for the day and communicating what needs to get done, and "singing off-key, very loudly," he said.

As soon as he gets to Farmville, Jones is immediately at one of the fields inspecting and preparing for practices and games occurring that day. Meetings generally consume his morning, but the afternoon is when Jones can be found doing what he loves.

"I'm very hands-on. You'll find me involved in the mowing process and before games, I'm painting lines or logos on the field," Jones said.

"Alpha is one of the hardest workers that I have ever met with the amount of resources that he has. The amount of effort and care he puts into his job and making sure all of the student-athletes and coaches are taken care of on and off the field; on that aspect, he works twice as hard. When I think of him, I think of someone who puts in so much time and effort, given that he drives so far for so many long days, there aren't many people willing to do that, so kudos to him," said Jamal White, director of athletic events.

It's more than just mowing fields, though. Jones has an unparalleled and in-depth knowledge of how to keep all eight acres of live turf at its greenest, which requires him to be a biologist, environmental scientist and meteorologist.

The process is complicated, involving two types of fertilizers, herbicides and irrigation, while being cautious about emitting too much nitrogen into the environment, and not to mention the maintenance of the artificial blue "Smurf Turf" that is Elizabeth Burger Jackson Field.

Jones gained all his knowledge of turf maintenance through experience, "I was around the right people at the right time," he said.

He started at the University of Pittsburgh after high school, studying electrical engineering, but after meeting his soon-to-be wife, Beth, he chose to chase the girl over staying in Pittsburgh. He moved to Durham, N.C. to study political science part-time at North Carolina Central University and simultaneously owned and operated his own landscaping company. For 10 years, Jones owned J & D Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance until he got the opportunity to be the head groundskeeper at a private school.

Not long after, Jones made a friend in the man holding his position at the Durham Bulls, a then single A Minor League baseball team.

"I probably learned more from him than I did anybody else. He's considered one of the best in the industry. That's when I caught the fever, I guess you could say," chuckled Jones, "I got bit by the science of turf management. I saw the energy my friend had and his passion and it was contagious."

Jones never left his previous career tracks behind, as he noted that electrical engineering taught him problem-solving system development, which is crucial for him because of the high traffic on the delicate turfs, and he keeps a list in his office of projects outside of the normal day-to-day maintenance.

"These are issues that are limiting what our student-athletes can do, so I'm working to find a way to fix them so they (student-athletes) can perform at their best. I'm one of those people that will sit here and bang my head against the wall until I find a solution," Jones joked.

The biggest challenges of the job are the weekends where every team has an event on the same day. "It's a misnomer. Everyone thinks in the spring it's crazy. Right now, we have field hockey and men's and women's soccer [practicing]. Tennis, lacrosse, and baseball and softball are [in season]," said Jones, "In the fall, everyone is looking for game-readiness (from their respective fields) and in the spring, baseball, softball and tennis are the ones looking for game-readiness."

"In many ways, it's an extremely thankless job. Work all day, games on nights and weekends, being on-call outside of that; the dedication that it takes to fulfill such a schedule is truly something else," recognized Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing Operations Joseph Kaminski.

Jones rarely ends his day before 6 p.m. and on extremely busy days that will turn into early mornings, he finds it easier to sleep in his office than drive home.

"I prepare the field and set up the facilities before the games, stay for the duration of the game and do the post-game cleanup, usually an hour's worth of work," Jones said.

Kaminski concluded, "Alpha's knowledge of his field and commitment to his work is what helps keep Athletics moving forward."

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