Making the pitch perfect: Meet the director of grounds for Denver Summit FC

CENTENNIAL, Colo. Some people discover early a passion or skill that fuels their future career paths. Sun Roesslein grew up as an athlete, loving the smell of fresh cut grass and experiences playing on the field. However, it wasn't until college where she discovered turfgrass management, a career she would then pursue.

"Getting to grow grass in Denver is like part of the trifecta for me. When people ask like, 'Why did you want this job?' You know, it is the trifecta," said Roesslein. "Women's professional sports soccer is really focused in on natural grass as the premier surface, which is also my passion and then to get to stay here and do it here in Denver is like it's the pinnacle. It's awesome."

Her passion sprouted over the years, previously working for Jefferson County Schools for more than 20 years. Now, her office looks like Centennial Stadium with Denver Summit FC scheduled to play there on July 19 against the Portland Thorns. She explained the unique tie this pitch has to the world's biggest stage.

"Grown in Platteville, Colorado, just up the road. They had four fields altogether. One went to Atlanta, one went to Houston and one went to Dallas, and the fourth one went to Denver right here," said Roesslein. "So we're standing on grass that was prepared to get installed at a World Cup facility."

Besides the stadium, there are several practice fields which Roesslein and her team help care for. You may be able to guess some of Roesslein's team's tasks like mowing and irrigation but there is also a primary focus on players' safety.

"We want to provide not only a great looking pitch for the players to perform on, but also a safe pitch for them. We want to optimize the conditions so that the athletes trust the field and can do what they need to do," Roesslein said.

With the stadium still under construction, Roesslein proudly wears a hard hat with a sticker reading "Women In Turf Working." She explained there are very few female turf grass managers in the country, specifically noting that only 4% of the Sports Field Management Association are female.

This makes her role all the more significant, as she breaks barriers while building the grounds where Denver's first women's professional soccer team will make history.

"It is really empowering. It's powerful to know that there aren't very many of us. There aren't very many in professional sports. There were two female head groundskeepers in Major League Baseball," Roesslein said. "I think I'm the only female director in professional soccer, so to be at this level is, it's a lot. It's really exciting."