Noah Simmons has devoted 12 years of his life to the home grounds of the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Simmons started grounds keeping for the RailCats in sixth grade and worked his way up to the title of head groundskeeper.
“When I was younger, it was just something that I was really into, and I had some family friends that were involved in it. I had gone with RailCats when I was in sixth grade and I've kind of just worked my way up from there,” said Simmons.
While working for the RailCats in 2017, Simmons saw that there was a high demand for groundskeepers for athletic fields and for at-home backyards. This gave Simmons the idea to start his own groundskeeping business, ‘Simmons Field Solutions.'
“I was just getting so many calls on my RailCats office phone asking, ‘Can you come help with my field?’ and so I finally just said, 'Well, I'm gonna start helping people out and start a business,'” said Simmons.
Simmons expresses that even when it is the holiday season there is still work to be done when it comes to groundskeeping athletic fields. No matter what the weather is like, Simmons finds a way to get his job done.
“This year has been crazy because the weather hasn't really gotten bad yet. So we're still out working on fields and stuff like that, but we also plow snow in the winter,” said Simmons.
When Simmons is not plowing snow, mowing grass, or working on someone’s yard, he can be seen spending time with family and friends or on a nice vacation.
“I love going on vacation in the winter time and spending time with my family and grandparents,” said Simmons.
Simmons also enjoys spending his down time playing fetch with his one-year-old golden retriever, Champ. Simmons enjoys how playful his pup can be.
“He's a monster. He's a year and a half old, and that's all we do,” said Simmons.
Simmons will even bring Champ to work with him. Simmons expresses what it is like to have a furry companion by his side while working at the RailCats field.
“Sometimes he plays on the field with me and while I'm mowing the grass he's out there running around,” said Simmons.
But even when Simmons has time off, he still finds a way to keep up on groundskeeping.
“I love reading up on grounds. A great friend of mine is Roger Bossard, over at the White Sox, we keep in touch and are always talking about groundskeeping,” said Simmons.
Simmons is always finding new ways to make the athletic fields he works on the best they can be. He expressed his excitement for the new season that will be coming shortly next year.
“We got a new field at the RailCats last year so we're excited to keep maintaining that and just bringing fun more fun back to the Northwest Indiana,” said Simmons.
Simmons continues to dedicate his time to his passion for groundskeeping while working as the head groundskeeper for the RailCats and as the business owner of Simmons Field Solutions.
For more information on Simmons’ business, visit simmonsfieldsolutions.com or email him at nsimmons@railcatsbaseball.com.