For Zionsville Little League groundskeeper Chad Antcliff, maintaining the Lions Park grounds, turf and infields is a full-time job.

Antcliff was a ZLL board member for seven years, serving as vice president of softball for five years and then as league president for the last two years.

Now, he handles the day-to-day operations for ZLL, including scheduling, roster assignments, recruitment, communications and overall upkeep of the fields. He has been the groundskeeper since 2021.

Chad’s son and daughter played softball and baseball for ZLL for many years, and he was interested in staying involved.

“ZLL was looking to make a change and bring someone in to do year-round maintenance,” Antcliff said. “I was leaving the board, and my kids had aged out, but I enjoyed being (at the park) and seeing the young boys and girls playing.”

Now during the offseason, ZLL is working on several improvement projects.

“Last year, we started adding artificial turf on parts of our fields to help with general upkeep and wear and tear,” Antcliff said. “Right now, we have two fields we are adding artificial turf to, and we are also changing out the playing surface itself to upgrade it.”

According to Antcliff, who works closely with volunteers and the Zionsville Lions Club on park upkeep, the Little League is essential to the town because it is the longest-standing youth sports league in Zionsville.

“It is a part of the fabric of growing up and participating in sports in Zionsville,” Antcliff said. “Lions Park is an iconic Zionsville landmark. The park and league are involved in how people grow up here.”

For more about ZLL, visit zionsvillelittleleague.org.