By John Kmitta
Hometown pride is real for Rising Star Award Winner Colt Boxler.
Boxler, who grew up in Akron, Ohio, attended nearby Ellet High School, and graduated from the University of Akron, now maintains the baseball field at Canal Park, home of the Akron RubberDucks (Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians) – a field at which Boxler attended games as a child.
“I went to the University of Akron for sports management and was looking into facility/stadium operations,” said Boxler. “I did an internship here with the RubberDucks doing facility operations. At the end of the internship, Head Groundskeeper Chris Walsh needed extra help, so I helped out for the final 10 games that season and really enjoyed it. Chris was impressed enough that he offered me a job on the game day crew the following year.”
Boxler worked as a game day crewmember for the next two seasons, and in 2019 was offered the position as assistant groundskeeper.
“Before that, I had never really even considered turfgrass or working on a sports field,” said Boxler. “I was hired in February of 2020 as the full-time assistant. Then, two weeks in, we were in this unprecedented time with no idea what was going to happen.
“Once the pandemic hit, we were told we couldn’t be at the stadium, and we had to try to figure out a way to work from home,” Boxler added. “Chris was great in guiding me on using that time to educate myself as best I could. He was looking up articles, lectures and videos, so I could read them or watch them, and use that time at home. SFMA opened up free access to their resources, so I utilized that April through June. When things opened back up, I was able to start applying all that stuff I had read about and learned.”
By 2021, Boxler was back to work at the field, and, he says, very particular about everything he did.
“I wanted everything to be perfect,” he said. “I was so excited; I had a great time throughout that year. The team won a championship that year. Having all the players come up to us after they won and thank us for everything we did was a real cool experience.”
Since then, Boxler has strived to continue to improve his effort each year and create the best field possible. In his role as assistant groundskeeper for the RubberDucks, he helps Walsh with day-to-day operations while also overseeing and managing a game day staff of 6 to 8. In that role, he handles all scheduling, planning and oversight of the game day crew.
According to Boxler, from the start he has tried to make Walsh’s life easier, allow him more work-life balance, and serve as a security blanket so that Walsh can leave him in charge and not have to worry.
“I’ve tried to be someone that he can trust to set up the field, take care of irrigation issues or whatever the case may be,” said Boxler. “He can rely on me, and not have to stress and worry and try to do everything. He has taught me everything I needed to know to be able to take care of a field at a high level.
“He is my boss and he is the head groundskeeper, but we really do work as a team, which is fantastic because we have trust in each other,” he added. “He allows me to do things that probably most other assistants don’t get to do.”
While many sports field managers deal with the challenge of schedules and events, Boxler feels fortunate that the RubberDucks organization does a great job of listening to input from the grounds crew. “Knowing that work-life balance is a focus we want to have, they do a great job of not overloading us too much,” he said.
As result, Boxler says the biggest challenges of the job are the things you don’t necessarily expect or prepare for – the things that you don’t learn in a classroom or through an article, but through experience.
“After a game a couple years ago, we were packing the bullpens, and in front of the bullpens we saw bit of a dip,” he said. “We opened it up and found out we had a mini sinkhole. The next thing you know, we were out there digging it up, trying to find the issue, and fixing it until 4 a.m. That’s a freak occurrence that you have to adjust for on the fly and figure it out. You can’t be set in your ways of doing something. You have to be able to adapt.”
But Boxler loves such challenges, as well as the opportunity to be outdoors and physically active on a daily basis.
“One of the greatest things is hearing fans rave about how great the field looks, or comments from players, coaches and umpires about how well the field plays,” he said. “I take pride in knowing I was a part of creating that, and responsible for what everyone is seeing and enjoying.”
When not at work creating an awe-inducing field, Boxler enjoys golfing, fishing and spending time with his three-year-old German Shepherd, Madchen. On the job, knowing that he has the support and admiration of his peers and his boss is something Boxler is proud of.
“I have tried to be a quick study,” he said. “I’ve always prided myself on schoolwork. My grandparents were teachers, and I had an uncle who was a principal. I was told if I wanted to play sports, I had to have good grades; so I always put a focus on learning.”
Launching his career as an assistant during COVID not only allowed Boxler time to research and learn, but it also allowed time to experiment with different techniques, approaches and equipment.
“That’s where having the support of the organization is huge,” he said. “They’re willing to allow us to do different things and have those kinds of resources.”
When asked about what the future holds and what his dream job might be, Boxler said he gets that question a lot lately.
“I’ve been an assistant here full time since 2020, and a lot of people ask when I’m going to take a head job somewhere,” said Boxler. “It all depends upon the opportunity and what makes sense for me. I’m very fortunate to be working with Chris and with the RubberDucks. We’re in a great spot and we are taken care of pretty well. Not every place is necessarily going to be like that.
“Yes, the idea of one day potentially having my own field and being completely in charge of it is certainly enticing,” he added. “But I’m not actively looking to leave. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I’m in, and the organization. I know how special the place I get to work at is.”
After all, there is a bit of hometown pride mixed in.
What their nominator had to say:
“By adopting innovation and new methods of performing his job duties, Colt is not afraid to try new things. He also enjoys passing along what he has learned to the next generation of groundskeepers. His passion and drive to learn and be a better sports field manager is unmatched. Colt exemplifies what a Rising Star is and represents everything this industry is striving for in the future.”
Editor’s Note:
SportsFieldManagementOnline.com will share the individual profiles of this year’s Rising Star Award winners during the coming weeks so that each winner is highlighted in our featured spot on the site. But you can also read about all of this year’s winners in the October issue of SportsField Management, and you can listen to interviews with the winners on the SportsField Management Podcast.
To nominate an industry professional for next year’s Rising Star Awards, please visit the Rising Star main page.
Special thanks to STEC Equipment for sponsoring the Rising Star Awards.
