The Toro Co. announced that Kyle Carney, turf student at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, is the winner of the seventh annual Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program. In January 2009, Carney will travel to Tampa Bay to help the grounds crew prepare the field and practice facilities for Super Bowl XLIII.
The Toro Company and the National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowl grounds team collaborated to offer a program aimed at enhancing the skills of emerging sports turf professionals. The Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training Program provides unique hands-on experience in establishing and maintaining safe playing fields for the highest level of football competition — the Super Bowl.
Carney graduated in 2007 from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in economics. While working for the Pawtucket Red Sox, a minor league baseball team, Carney discovered his true passion in sports turf maintenance. Carney felt that in order to have a successful career in the sports turf industry, he needed to further his education. In the fall of 2007, Carney enrolled at the University of Connecticut in the Turfgrass Science Program.
Carney has been involved in all aspects of the Pawtucket Red Sox field operations for the past four years. In addition, he worked for the athletic field management department at the University of Connecticut and with the Washington Nationals major league baseball team.
Toro equipment and professionals have been involved in helping prepare the stadium and practice fields for each Super Bowl event since the inaugural game in 1967. Additionally, Toro has forged strong partnerships with many other sports venues and events including several Major League Baseball and National Football League stadiums, university and college stadiums, Talladega Superspeedway, the Rose Bowl, and Disney’s Wide World of Sports. Throughout the world, communities trust Toro to help produce superior athletic fields for colleges, K-12 schools, and park and recreation organizations.