Three-time Sports Turf Manager of the Year shares secret to success

Matt Parrott, head groundskeeper of the Charlotte Knights says it's critical to have a dedicated staff throughout the organization in order to keep BB&T Ballpark in top shape. (Photo: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)

Matt Parrott is a three-time Sports Turf Manager of the Year. In 2019, the Charlotte Knights honored Parrott with his own bobblehead giveaway. (Photo: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)

Matt Parrott, head groundskeeper of the Charlotte Knights, was recently named Sports Turf Manager of the Year for the third straight year by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

Parrott manages BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, N.C., for the Knights, which are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

In honor of his back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018, the Knights honored Parrott with his own bobblehead in his likeness as part of the team’s Margaritaville night, a nod to Jimmy Buffett’s Parrot Head fans.

Parrott took some time to talk to Athletic Turf about what it takes to create an award-winning field.

Athletic Turf (AT): What’s the makeup of your field’s turf (grass variety, etc)?

Parrott: Our field consists of two different varieties of bermudagrass. Our outfield at BB&T Ballpark is 419 and our infield and foul territory is Latitude 36.

AT: What’s the irrigation/drainage like?

Parrott: The irrigation on the field is a combination of Hunter I-40, Hunter I-25, and Hunter I-20 stainless steel rotors. We utilize the assistance of a variable frequency drive to supplement the city water pressure. Our drainage is designed with laterals located every 15 feet, which feed a main collector in the center of the field with a loop drain running the perimeter of the field. All warning track drains utilize this loop drain before tying into the main collector drain. Our profile is similar to a “California Style” green in that we do not have a gravel layer other than in the drainage trenches. The root zone profile is 100 percent USGA sand over top of native soil.

Matt Parrott (right) says the growing season wasn’t without its own challenges. (Photo: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)

AT: What was this past year’s season like?

Parrott: This season was like all seasons in that it was uniquely challenging. During the month of May, we went 26 straight days without any measurable rainfall. From June 1 through the remainder of the season we saw above average overall precipitation which had a significant impact on the majority of our game days. In terms of the transition from ryegrass to bermudagrass, it was a great summer for growing bermudagrass in the Charlotte area which made for a seamless transition.

AT: How big is your groundskeeping staff?

Parrott: Our staff consists of a combination of both full- and part-time seasonal employees. Our full-time staff is made up of myself and our assistant head groundskeeper, Joe Miles. The seasonal staff consists of between 22 and 25 employees who rotate on a daily basis based on needs and our game schedule. On a typical game day, we bring in four hourly employees at 10 a.m. to facilitate the daytime activities and be on call for tarp situations. These employees typically leave at 5 p.m., when we bring in our night staff which consists of seven additional hourly employees. On most nights this gives a total of nine employees including myself and our assistant for games. We utilize hourly employees on an as-needed basis when the team is on the road based on any maintenance needs we may have.

Matt Parrott, head groundskeeper of the Charlotte Knights says it’s critical to have a dedicated staff throughout the organization in order to keep BB&T Ballpark in top shape. (Photo: Laura Wolff/Charlotte Knights)

AT: What does it take to make an award-winning field?

Parrott: Dedication across the organization is the key to the success that we have had in regards to the field. It starts from the top of the organization and works its way down. The support that we get from our COO Dan Rajkowski and our General Manager Rob Egan is second-to-none. Our full-time front office staff understands the demands on the field and the role that they play in facilitating efforts to coordinate non-baseball events along with assisting with in-game tarp pulls. Our grounds staff is made up of employees who both look forward to being a part of our operation and appreciate the level of detail and expertise that is required to put a quality product out on the field for both our fans and our end users, the players. The overall understanding that attention to detail and efficiency are the pillars in what makes a successful crew is apparent day in and day out.

AT: Do you feel any pressure with the reputation BB&T has year in and year out?

Parrott: I suppose there is a level of pressure with the job, but I don’t think it’s any different than the pressure associated with any job where you must meet deadlines and be able to adjust on the fly given the circumstances we are faced with, be it weather situations, time constraints, etc. The expectation is to have the field appear game ready minus foul lines and bases at all times. We are in a unique situation in Charlotte with the picturesque skyline that we have as a backdrop to BB&T Ballpark. Obviously, there are a lot of eyes on our facility around the clock from the passersby in the city to the many Uptown businesses that overlook our ballpark. We are very fortunate to be a centerpiece of the Uptown district in Charlotte.

AT: What’s one piece of equipment you can’t live without on the field?

Parrott: This is always a difficult question to answer. When we need to mow, our mowers are the most important tool that we have in our toolbox. When we need to do infield or warning track finishing, our John Deere 1200A is the most important piece. The piece that probably gets the least “respect” so to speak, is our aerifier. We are extremely aggressive from a cultural standpoint in that we completed 12 full field aerification during the 2019 season. Eight of those were solid tine aerification and four were core aerification. It would be very difficult to pull cores without a core harvester to sweep up cores. Our sprayer typically is being used for fertilizer or fungicide applications on a weekly basis. I guess my point is that we simply are only as good as the sum of our parts and that we would not be as successful as we are without any of those tools.

AT: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to fellow sports field managers?

Parrott: Surround yourself with good people, whether it be employees, supervisors, vendors or colleagues. All of these people have valuable insight into how to improve your overall operation. Lean on them and spend more time listening than talking. Look at the people around you who you consider to be successful. The one thing they have in common is the willingness to put in the time when it is needed. Successful people generally work on their own internal clock and manage their time, not work on a clock that someone tells them when they have to be at work and when they can leave. There will be times in this business that you do have to “work for free,” but it will pay off down the road.

AT: How does it feel to have your own bobblehead?

Parrott: I guess it’s pretty cool. For those who know me, I think they would say it’s not really my style. It was a nice promotion and people tell me it’s an honor. I don’t really know about that, but my kids thought it was pretty cool.