Cheshire County Sports Club Levels Up with New SISIS Equipment – Thanks to Football Foundation Grant

Cheshire County Sports Club has taken a major step in enhancing its pitch maintenance with the recent delivery of a SISIS Maxislit and SISIS Quadraplay supplied by Campey Turf Care Systems

The club secured a small machinery grant through the Football Foundation, a process made accessible by working with Cheshire FA (or your local County FA). As part of the application, the club was guided to the official Football Foundation links and filled out paperwork to complete the process - a manageable step with huge long-term benefits for grassroots sport.

We caught up with Ryan Williams, Sports Development Manager at Cheshire County Sports Club, who shared his full journey from picking up a push mower to now managing machinery, liaising with suppliers and overseeing sports development both within the club and across the community.

''I got into grounds by working here. When I came here we were short of staff and my boss asked me to help out with push mowers. It was a passion project for me to look after the football pitches and we could see what we were delivering and the pitches were looking better week by week. The next stage was that childish stage – ‘can I have a go on the tractor?’ - and it went from there. I've gone from not knowing anything to knowing a fair amount. I'm still working with the Head Groundsman but managing the department for him so I deal with suppliers, Campey and anyone who comes in to fix and service machines etc allowing our Head Groundsman to get on with other tasks.”

Ryan has held his position for 2.5 years and now oversees a site that caters to a wide variety of sports, each with their own demands:

“On site at the Cheshire Sports Club we have loads of different sports and we are open to changing them all the time in my role. The big ones for us are football, american football, netball, cricket, tennis, artificial football, rugby union and rugby league. It's challenging at times as it's all year-round grass maintenance, but it's a challenge we all enjoy.”

SISIS Maxislit: Improving Drainage and Extending the Season
As part of the grant process, the Football Foundation and Grounds Management Association (GMA) recommended the SISIS Maxislit which was chosen for its performance and reliability in grassroots environments.

“The Maxislit was recommended to us as part of the Football Foundation and the Grounds Management Association (GMA) – it's going to allow us to maintain the quality of the pitches, improve the drainage of the pitches and it means we can play deeper into the year. Clubs that don't have this machinery will probably be calling games off October/November time where we will be able to keep games on.”

SISIS Quadraplay: Upgrading to Meet Modern Standards

The SISIS Quadraplay was another key piece of the equipment package, replacing an outdated machine the club had previously relied on.
“The Quadraplay was again recommended by the GMA – we did have a similar machine already but it was outdated, the blades weren't working – it wasn’t really effective and getting that 2-3 inch aeration we needed – it was just really doing surface work. The Quadraplay will allow us to keep up the maintenance of the pitch and keep that week-to-week and day to day benefit for the multiple sports that play on it. It will also allow us to use the two parts that didn’t work on our old equipment to remove the layers of thatch and improve the quality of the surface so we can make sure the organic layers are getting the benefit of the fertilisers we put down.”

The Quadraplay is particularly versatile:

“The Quadraplay comes with four different attachments – a roller and a brush for keeping the grass standing upright ahead of cutting and putting a nice stripe in, then the rake will help with the organic waste which stops the sunlight getting to the grass. It also comes with the star blades that will slice into the ground and aerate the ground and allow the drainage to improve over the year – if done regularly, which is obviously our plan.”

For Ryan, the diversity of the role is one of the best parts of the job:
“I’m lucky – I do something different every day. My favourite part of my job is how different my job is day to day – some days I'm on the tractor, other days I'm cooking, other days I'm running football tournaments and talking to the FA, ECB and England Netball for example.
It's so varied – I'm doing something different every day and I'm lucky I've got fun colleagues to work with and customers to deal with, and everyone I deal with is passionate about sport.”

But it comes with its challenges too:

“The most challenging part of my job is having to deal with structures that are new to me, trying to sell a product I know is right – e.g. getting a new Quadraplay and explaining to people who are spending the money how beneficial the new equipment will be for the club in terms of improving the grounds and saving staff time.
The weather is also a challenge – getting pitches ready in the winter is challenging as it's mid-season and teams are relying on you pulling it off.
You only have to look at 30°C days like today – being out cutting the outfield is hard work. I know office workers will say 'oh it’s lovely’ – but it’s not that lovely 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, when you're grafting hard and filling in holes with topsoil. You get a lovely tan though…”

Ryan is passionate about shining a light on just how much work happens behind the scenes in grounds management:

“I don't think people realise how difficult the industry is – it's not just cutting a pitch. We've got to aerate, seed, put fertiliser down and have weeks of not using it so we can get it back to a position where people can play on it. The amount of man hours that goes into it – I don't think people realise how much it costs to prepare pitches and how much work people like me and Kyle put in behind closed doors.”

Ryan has clear advice for anyone thinking about getting into the grounds industry:
“My advice for people wanting to get into the grounds industry is – just give it a go. Turn a hand to any task you're asked to do. There are some brilliant courses with the GMA but also if you're passionate about doing it – maybe it's a passion around your specific sport, maybe you just want to help out, or maybe it's something you want to do for a living – just give it a go. Get involved with your local club, get involved with the right people who can help you learn. I've learnt so much from people like Kyle – even though I don't work with him in that same traditional fashion. He's a font of knowledge for people like me and in just a couple of years I've learnt so much which is why we can manage the site the way we do – young people can come and do that quite easily and go a long, long way.”

Want to Apply for a Football Foundation Machinery Grant?
If you're part of a grassroots club and want to improve your grounds maintenance setup, a Football Foundation small machinery grant could be exactly what you need. Contact your County FA, like Cheshire FA, who can provide the Football Foundation application links and support throughout the process.

This equipment was sold by Campey Turf Care Systems who massively helped with the grant process also.

Find Campey Turf's Website here
Find Cheshire Sports Club website here

Find more info on the Maxislit here
Find more info on the Quadraplay here