WESTFIELD, Ind. - Transforming Grand Park into Colts' training camp every summer is a massive undertaking, starting with turning soccer fields into NFL playing surfaces.
"I think they trust me," said the Colts' Director of Grounds, Troy Glendenning. "They'll show up the first day of practice. The coaches don't come out to look and make sure it's right."
The Colts have been trusting Glendenning to get it right for more than 25 years now.
"I started inside cleaning toilets and I helped the guy then that was doing the fields. Then all of a sudden, he went a different direction and they said, 'Troy, you're the man,' so school of hard knocks," Glendenning recalls.
The Lebanon, Indiana native has learned something new every season and leans on his years of experience.
"Just doing it so long, you just know what the coaches like, what the players like and that's what you do," Glendenning said.
And what he does to get the fields ready for camp begins in late May. He applies fertilizer and monitors water. The preparations ramp up in mid-June.
"We're mowing it every other day, if not every day," said Glendenning. "We'll be painting probably two times a week."
Glendenning finalizes the fields with a top dressing of sand.
He calls the moment the players hit the grass for the first practice, "special".
However, the work doesn't end there. Dew needs to be knocked down before morning workouts. There's also a post-practice routine.
"We mow," Glendenning said. "We fill divots, so we're here a two-three hours easily after practice."
Providing the team with a safe practice surface is a labor of love.
"When this thing is all painted up and done, it's like you know what? 'We did this.' And green and nice. You know everybody says, the fields look great.' So a lot of pride," said Glendenning. "I know if nobody says a word as far as coaching or the G.M., I'm doing it right."