Brady Cook

stadium operations associate at Prasco Park

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Wizard

[Evan Bakota @EvanBakota]

self-eval + philosophy (long tweet):

for the record, A/C not on, no calcine, so peak moisture + my arm is cooked (probably need TJ), and I weigh maybe 145 after a 4-course steak dinner…but

1. For me, good mound is as tight as possible AND as close to OMC as possible.

Wet + Not Tight = Slop
Not Wet + Tight = Rock
Wet + Tight = Ideal

2. She definitely grabs back, so you better lace your spikes up tight.

3. My mounds are designed to “set and go” Find your spot, set your in foot and throw. Some guys will dig in, but again, I try to get it where you don’t necessarily need to do that to get a strong foothold.

4. Red clay is not as clean to get in/out, but the black clay feels quite nice.

5. Before I patch, I always evaluate the damage. I don’t want big chunks. I want what I call blades/corkscrews, pieces that almost match the cleat pattern itself. The clay should almost “peel” out, but still attach to the surface. It should also be malleable in your fingers, while not falling apart. (can basically stick it back in the holes). Use the finest sifted clay you can to get the best results.

6. Pros/Cons of being indoors:

Once your moisture is established and sealed with a compactor, it’ll hold for a while. I don’t usually slick/skate, as i see no reason to, I like the vibe finish on the surface, and then a nice even coat of H2O for the day. I also like dressing the slopes as late as possible to keep my moisture.

However, I do run into issues with surface cracking from the A/C + dry calcine, primarily in the low-traffic areas (middle of both lanes and sides). On the surface looks dry, but it has good moisture underneath. I compare it to a chocolate mousse.

The A/C also hits way harder first day of homestand, and on the field side mound. The far side retains moisture much better, but also gets less use so it does tend to get pretty tight after no use/vibing everyday. Sometimes I like that one more, sometimes less, depends on the day.

7. Patch work is the most important part of your mound. Moisture in your clay should be relative to what you are adding back in. I tend to patch with slightly drier clay cause I like how fine you can keep it. I add moisture back as I patch to keep everything consistent.
A good patch can’t save a bad mound, but a bad patch can ruin a good mound.

I’ve had people ask me “how do you know if the mound is good if you’ve never thrown off it?”

And while I find it sacrilegious to throw off your own mound, I was curious. Now I have an answer.

If you ever have clay questions, fire away!

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Mound rebuild ✅

5 weeks till fall ball

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Finally slowing down after a very busy fall. Drainage work on soccer and new sod on softball + moving some sprinkler heads took a lot of time but definitely worth the work. Happy with what we’ve done, looking to finish strong and get better in the spring.

[Pat Brennan @PBrennanENQ]

Not sure if they’re on X/Twitter but the Reds grounds crew putting in the hazardous work tonight. Many thanks to them.

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Softball over. Learned a lot the last few months. Happy to see how the field progressed from November to a few days ago

[Turface Athletics @Turfaceproducts]

💯Giveaway💯

We’re shipping out THREE #DIRT shirts to THREE lucky winners.

Just retweet this and follow @Turfaceproducts @TurfaceC @DIRTGottaLoveIt to enter to win.

🎉🎉🎉🎉

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Blankets off and first cut today. Time to get ready for tournament Friday

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Blankets went on today. Hoping to get some rye popping up before the first game

[Cincinnati Bengals @Bengals]

Joe Burrow... the gift that keeps on giving.

#RuleTheJungle x @JoeyB

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Always give it all on the field. In a slightly different way from @qbcook12 tho.

[MIZZOU-RAH @KCMizzou]

Thank you for everything @bradycook22 you are the truest son and we are forever grateful for everything you’ve done for this program. MIZ!

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Been growing some perennial rye in class all semester. Pretty happy with the results.

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

2 weeks since aerate sand and seed. Bermuda still sticking around but rye is starting to pop up

[Kentucky Women's Soccer @UKWomensSoccer]

You've outdone yourselves again @UKsportsturf

😻😻😻

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Making a mess. Cores yesterday, verticut today, seed and sand tomorrow

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

In between Bermuda and bluegrass and a little patchy on both fields but finishing off soccer and fall ball strong

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Field looking the best it has all year just in time for conference play

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Logos down ready for first home game Saturday

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Made the switch to @ATSSportsTurf gumbo clay and finally got around to the game mound. Already seeing great durability in the bullpen with it.

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Soccer looking better every day. Getting some good color out of the bluegrass

[Brady Cook @bradycook22]

Whole lotta work on softball today reshaping the back arc