Meet Winter Garden Little League's new 'grounds crew'

WINTER GARDEN When players, coaches and parents arrive bright and early at Winter Garden Little League on Saturday morning for the league’s Opening Day festivities, the fields and surrounding areas are going to look good.

In fact, the environment might look better than ever.

That’s because, after years where the fields were sparsely looked after — often by one lone volunteer — the league has, for the first time, a grounds crew committee. Comprising five board members, the group has stepped up to take on a number of projects around the complex on South Park Avenue.

“(The fields) look 1,000% better,” President Matt Eidelman said. “There’s so much more care that goes into the fields now — so much more preparation.”

The grounds crew gang includes Robert Bowen, Josh Steele, Mike Rowe, JT Wells and Luis Gomez. 

Together since September, they have done projects in recent weeks and months including adding additional seating at the fields and in the area around the batting cages; a big landscaping project around the dugouts, concession stand and other areas; constructing two additional batting cages and eight additional soft toss stations; remodeling the bathrooms; and eliminating the lip on the fields to protect players from bad bounces.

“(The fields) look 1,000% better. There’s so much more care that goes into the fields now — so much more preparation.”

— Matt Eidelman, WGLL President

Wells estimates the five men, collectively, put in upward of 40 hours each week.

“We want to leave it better than we found it,” Wells said.

The added attention to detail on the physical aesthetic at the league is in line with a number of other projects and initiatives WGLL and its board of directors have embraced recently. For someone such as Eidelman, having parent volunteers who are as dedicated as the grounds crew group is helps move the league along in its mission to be a first-class operation for its families.

“Someone said to me recently ‘you guys are almost creating a professional environment,’” Eidelman said. “That is huge.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].