Providence Catholic groundskeeper earns Field of the Year honor from national group

Scott Heren never threw a pitch for Providence Catholic’s baseball team.

He never took a swing for the Celtic, never coached the team.

Yet, when the Celtics became the first team in Illinois High School Association history to win three state championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016, he received three championship rings.

Heren is the school’s head groundskeeper and one of his jobs is to keep Tom Dedin Field, where the baseball team plays, in top shape.

“Scott is every bit a part of our baseball program as any coach or player,” Providence baseball coach Mark Smith said. “He puts in a ton of work during and outside of our season. He earned those rings just like anyone else in our program.”

Yes, Heren has been appreciated for years at Providence Catholic, in New Lenox.

Now, his work is drawing nationwide attention.

The Sports Field Management Association took notice and Tom Dedin Field was named Field of the Year in the Schools and Parks Baseball division of its annual competition.

Other fields receiving honors in their respective divisions included Eichelberger Field at the University of Illinois for softball, the football field at Duke University in North Carolina and the West Michigan Whitecaps minor league park.

That’s good company to be in.

“Whether tending to the needs of professional and collegiate teams or working within local parks and recreation departments, the dedicated men and women who diligently maintain sports fields nationwide are integral to community enrichment, ensuring safety and playability for all athletes,” Laura Simmons, the SFMA chief executive officer said in a news release.

The association indicated close to 3,000 men and women are a part of the SFMA.

Winners receive complimentary registration to the 2024 SFMA Conference & Exhibition on Jan. 22-25 in Daytona Beach, Florida, accommodations for three nights, signature clothing and a trophy presented during the annual awards banquet.

Each recipient will be highlighted in a future issue of SportsField Management Magazine, SFMA’s official monthly publication.

Heren admitted that his ego was boosted when he heard the news. He said submitted an 11-page questionnaire with 20 photos to SFMA for consideration.

“I’m ecstatic,” Heren said. “One of the questions is ‘why do you want to win?’ And I selfishly said it was for my own gratification I guess. But I’m happy that put the field on the map.”

Heren has worked at Providence for 15 years but had a four-year gap in which he worked at North Central College while his children attended there. He returned to the New Lenox campus two years ago.

He said the toughest part of keeping the field in top condition is dealing with the constant workouts the field gets every year.

“I don’t remember the number, but I think there are 180-200 games a year on the field,” he said. “You have high school varsity and JV teams playing on it. There are summer tournaments, summer and fall leagues, and Mark is kind enough to give me 220 campers for four days straight for more traffic.”

He said during the high school season he keeps up with it on a daily basis seeding and cutting but reduces the workload slightly in the offseason.

“In the summer, I kind of let it go a little bit because it’s not Providence’s season,” Heren said. “Three or four times a week it gets cut. It gets watered and fertilized … all that good stuff.”

Heren grew up in Mazon and now lives in Morris. He has worked on golf courses before coming to Providence.

At first, Heren was in the business world but that didn’t last too long.

“I couldn’t stand working inside so I got my associate degree in horticulture,” Heren said.

Daily Southtown

Twice-weekly

---

News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday

By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

>

The field was named after Dedin, who was not only successful baseball coach at the school, he was named Providence’s first athletic director in 1962. He later coached baseball at Illinois.

The field had a major facelift in 2008 with a brick backstop, netting, home and away dugouts, a storage area, a second-story locker room and a press box.

But all of those improvements would have meant little if the field itself wasn’t taken care of and that’s what Heren has been doing over the years.

And Smith couldn’t be happier.

“We are very blessed to have Scott on campus taking care of our facilities, especially for me because of his love for baseball and taking such great care of our field,” the coach said.

“I am very proud of Tom Dedin Field, as is Scott, and we are fortunate to have a facility like this.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.