SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — When you're watching the Little League World Series, you're probably tuning in to see the players. But if you're here before and after games or even between innings, you might catch a glimpse of the grounds crew.
"We've seen a lot of teams, we've seen a lot of umpires, we've seen a lot of people, big crowds," said Jeff Fowler, a member of the grounds crew.
Fowler lives in the Pittsburgh area and is part of the volunteer grounds crew at the Little League World Series. Volunteers from the nonprofit Sports Field Management Association have been coming here for 25 years to help with the fields. They maintain the two playing fields and three practice fields.
"We help maintain them and help make them safe for play so that not only do the fields look good, but they also are safe for the young people that are here playing on."
Most of the volunteers do this type of work all year round.
Chris Lessig lives in Daytona, Florida, and manages three sports complexes.
"It's just something that's near and dear to me. We like to do this for the kids, and that's my part of giving back."
The volunteers say they are happy to be here.
"These are the best of the best in Little League, so they deserve the best of the best on a field, so we want to give them the best fields possible," Lessig said.
The volunteers we spoke with estimate that over the last 25 years, they've helped prepare these fields for more than 800 games.