Leaving AstroTurf
Sitting at a table in the Dalton Country Club with the Owner, President, COO and two Vice Presidents, the Owner of AstroTurf (at the time) asked me: “Why do you want to work in turf?” I hadn’t finished forming the words in my head before beginning to respond, “I don’t.” I was not pursing a career in fields when I received a call while coaching at the University of Vermont that AstroTurf was looking to grow it’s footprint in soccer. I quickly added, “but I understand you want to improve the quality of surfaces soccer is played on, I can do that. And I’m excited about the possibility of doing it with a family-owned, iconic, American company.” At that time I didn’t know anything about artificial turf fields or the industries tied into it. But I had faith. That week I received an offer and in January, 2013 I became the first Director of Soccer in the company’s five decade history.
Over the next four years and 10 months, we would pursue the vision of better fields, safer fields relentlessly. And we would align with partners across the sector, from the NSCAA (now United Soccer Coaches), the US Soccer Foundation, Virginia Youth Soccer, the StubHub Center and many others. I’ve been on the front lines of the most scrutiny and discussions (including the crumb rubber debate) around fields in the history of the industry. But most importantly, I constantly pushed for AstroTurf to be for soccer what it already is for field hockey and baseball, the best synthetic surface for athletes and play.
On Wednesday afternoon, my time at AstroTurf ended with a four minute phone call; I was terminated…fired…let go…I was out.
Having been the boss at SoccerPlus in a previous iteration, I have a tremendous amount of empathy for those making difficult personnel decisions and those delivering the news. While management training tells you to be matter-of-fact, cold, detached, in my experiences, you have to read each situation differently. In this case, I was always clear that I worked at the pleasure of management. If management thinks this is the best decision for the company, I can respect (and disagree) with the decision but will sleep well with the body of work I’ve produced and the integrity I carried while going about it. I felt no anger or animosity, but tremendous gratitude — and some disappointment that I wasn’t able to do more.
Unrealized potential will always be a primary motivator for me, as a coach, in business and for me personally. Could I have done better? Yes. Unequivocally, yes. Always. But we don’t function in a vacuum. We don’t work in a controlled environment. The end result being we spend lots of time reacting and not enough time in our daily work dictating the process and nurturing the future. I will walk away from this company and this experience smarter, more aware of the need to control variables I can control and shutting out the noise of what I can’t.
Over the past two days, I’ve spoken to many people, read a number of posts and articles about being fired and digested the involuntary shift in my life. After the death of my father this summer, I’m coming to believe that when change begins, it applies Newton’s first law. Change in motion will continue in motion and unless another force acts upon it.
Many people want to know what’s next for me. Definitely something. I don’t know yet…but if you’ve got any suggestions, leads, opportunities for me, I’m all ears. I’ll explore everything and have confidence that the path forward will reveal itself.
At the outset, I was very clear that I would never work for another turf company. That’s easy to say when you’re employed by a company, harder to say when you don’t know when your next paycheck is coming. But I’m proud to have worked for AstroTurf. And I still strongly endorse the work of my former colleagues and the contractors. I have no interest in fighting the behemoth, the grittiest and most innovative company in the industry. What would I say, “I’ve actually been lying to everyone for the past 5 years, but I’m telling the truth to you now, Turf Company X’s product is actually much better.” That’s not my style. And as of today, it’s not true. If you’re building a field today in the US and you don’t at least have AstroTurf in the conversation, you’re doing something wrong. Call one of these people.
Regardless of what I do next, I will continue to have a voice in fields — now it will simply be my voice unfiltered. Fields are universal. They matter. And I can’t be complicit in allowing the industry, not soccer or player health and safety to win out. I believe as much in the mission today as I did the day I started.
This morning, I woke up at 5am like I normally do. I walked Bryson. Made my tea. And as I sit here and share this news with you, I feel relief. And gratitude, tremendous amounts of gratitude. To my colleagues, thank you for always being available to answer the stupid questions of a soccer coach and then later on indulging in my wide-eyed excitement for a tweak to a product or the design of a new soccer field and mostly for your tireless efforts. You are some of the hardest working people I have ever associated with and I wish you all the very best as you continue to reclaim AstroTurf’s rightful place as the industry leader, the first name in turf. I believe in you. I look forward to our paths crossing somewhere further on down the line.
I appreciate all the support I’ve received from so many of you through everything this year. For now, it’s time for me to rest and recovery. Then, something epic.
If you have any insights, leads, contacts that I should explore as I begin planning the next steps, I can be reached on my cell at 860.881.7731, adicicco@gmail.com or on Twitter or Facebook.
