Head Groundsman Eddy Huisman reflects on a historic season and prepares for European schedule

How LED grow lights powers Go Ahead Eagles’ pitch success

LED120 grow lights at the Adelaarshorst, home of Go Ahead Eagles

It’s not every day that you catch a groundsman just days after a historic cup win, but for Eddy Huisman, Head Groundsman at Go Ahead Eagles, the timing couldn’t have been better. “It was a rollercoaster of emotions,” he says, reflecting on the club’s first ever KNVB Cup win. “A final with everything in it, I’ll never forget these days.”

With European football coming up next season and a stadium renovation planned for 2026, things won’t be slowing down anytime soon in Deventer. But for Eddy, the priority remains what it’s always been: delivering the best possible pitch, no matter the schedule.

Shining a light on pitch quality

LED grow lighting plays an important role in helping to maintain a healthy pitch, especially during busy match schedules and unpredictable weather conditions. Go Ahead Eagles uses a combination of SGL’s LED120 and LED50 units. “We mainly use them in high-wear areas like the goalmouths and shaded sections,” Eddy explains. “You see a clear difference. The grass becomes fuller, it recovers better, and it continues growing even in difficult spots.”

Working with SGL, the grounds team has also fine-tuned the lighting schedule. “Mark Wubben (red. Area Manager Benelux) from SGL helped us adjust the timing to reach optimal results. For now, this means we start using the lights earlier in the year. That way, the grass plant strengthens sooner and we head into the season with a more resilient pitch.”

Eddy values the hands-on support and practical design of the units. “One of the reasons I preferred SGL was the service. From day one, Mark was there to help with the setup and the dashboard. The LED units are also relatively easy to move around, even the large ones can be handled by two people. The LED50s are manageable solo.”

Learning through the seasons

Looking back at the season, Eddy is open about the lessons learned. “At the start, the pitch was in great shape. We’d used hollow tines for aeration and things were going really well. But then we made the mistake with brushing, we ended up pressing the cores back into the surface, which meant a lot of extra work to fix it.”

Once winter set in, the LED lights proved invaluable, especially on the side of the stadium that gets less natural light. “Suddenly, we saw those shaded areas improve. The lights helped keep the grass going where daylight just wasn’t enough. When spring came and the temperatures started rising, we added some bottom heat and things really came to life.

Preparing for a busy summer

With no play-offs or early qualifiers this summer, the club time for renovation of the pitch. “We’re going to shave off the top two centimetres, like milling, refill with sand and overseed. Last year, we laid completely new turf for a concert, but now we’ve got a hybrid pitch, so concerts are a thing of the past. The field is sacred,” Eddy says with a smile.

“Some people even suggested holding the cup celebration on the pitch. I said, the first one to step onto my field gets it!” Says Eddy with a wink. “Luckily, the club and the city chose to do an open-top bus tour alongside the river and through the city. I was standing along the route, just near the party venue where the club hosted the celebration. That was a great evening with all the staff and players, they can definitely do that more often.”

Eyes on Europe

European football brings excitement, and a more demanding calendar. “We’ll have four home games in the group stage, plus the cup. That makes for a packed autumn and winter,” Eddy says. “We don’t know yet who we’ll face, but we hope for some beautiful big clubs in the Europa League.”

Financially, it opens up new opportunities as well. “Of course, there’s additional revenue, but also extra costs involved in organising matches. I hope we can invest a bit in expanding the team. Right now, I work full-time and my colleague works 32 hours a week. Having an extra set of hands would make a real difference, ideally a student we can train for the future, especially with the goal of having our own training ground. The schedule’s only going to get busier.”

From cup glory to European nights and everything in between, it’s clear that Eddy Huisman’s pitch will be ready, powered by smart planning, a careful preparation, and advanced LED grow lights that keeps the grass healthy and growing even during the darkest months of the year.