It is little wonder that Yate Town Football Club's pitch has been hailed for years as one of the finest playing surfaces in the country when they have a man like Roger Hawkins and his team around.
And there is more good news with the club changing the name of its ground from Lodge Road to The Jelf Stadium after a naming rights competition.
Hawkins and his workmates have kept the ground at the stadium in perfect order for years, and their work in the last season has not gone without being noticed.
They have won not just one but two awards.
Hawkins has been named as FA Groundsman of the year for the Southern Football Association and also picked up the trophy as Groundsman of the year for clubs in Step 3/4 category which is a national award.
A statement from the club said: "Yate Town Football Club are delighted and also very proud to advise that our head groundsman Roger Hawkins, and his team, especially John Lewis, Pete Kirby and Barry Neale, have this week been formally recognised by the FA.
"As we are fully aware, the playing surface at The Jelf Stadium as one of the best if not the best in the league and county and that is down to Roger and his team who put in hours of work week after week to ensure the pitch is always in pristine condition "Both of these awards are a fantastic achievement and are a testament for the hard work, effort and skill that Roger and his team put in to prepare the pitch."
You can read the full article from The Gazette HERE
Image: Yate Town manager Paul Britton presents the National Groundsman of the Year award to Roger Hawkins, watched by Director John Croft and John Lewis, one of the Assistant Groundsmen
