5 ways adult kickball changed my life
Last summer, I signed up for an adult coed kickball league. It had been 20-plus years since the last time I played the game in elementary school.
The GO Kickball slogan claims it is “Charlotte’s premier social experience,” and I needed to meet new people.
Kickball changed my life. Here are five ways it could change yours.
1) The social scene
When I started playing kickball, my life morphed into one social event after another. Some kickball nights even blurred into fuzzy weekday mornings.
There is always something to do — boat days, lake days, game nights, dancing nights, Friday night drinks and concert days — all on top of kickball night.
A co-worker caught me redoing my makeup before our championship kickball game and laughed, but I couldn’t help it. I never know who I am going to meet.
It’s kickball wednesday and our kickoff party at pinkys in huntersville! Come out for free beer and meet your team! pic.twitter.com/j0WIaBmlVk
— GokickballCLT (@GoKickballCLT) June 18, 2014
2) The competition
As it turns out, this version of kickball is the same as the game I played when I was a child, but with a list of rules 2,800 words long. No one seems to remember them on the field.
The players are serious and calls are argued between players and referees like it’s the NFL. Of course, players don’t have to be that competitive. But let’s be honest: Everyone wants to win.
3) The entertainment value
I’ve learned from being around kickball people that there’s not much difference between elementary school politics and adult politics. Who is dating whom, and who is kissing whom is an intricate web that no one can keep up with but everyone claims to know.
It’s way better than the drama on “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.” I promise.
4) The rumors
There are kickball people I don’t even know but just hear about.
There’s the guy that supposedly lives on this fantasy farm akin, in my mind, to Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. The story goes that one time there was a party there and some people had too much fun and fell asleep in the foliage.
One party attendee is rumored to have had an actual bed in his truck — sheets, blanket, mattress — which I’m going to assume means he was a Boy Scout and was just being prepared.
5) The acute anticipation
Dear Rain, Go Away. Don’t go away mad, just go away. Sincerly, An Accountant who wants to play kickball tomorrow
— AJ (@NickLavid) April 15, 2015
The anticipation of kickball night is pretty intense. My laundry schedule revolves around when I’ll need my kickball shirt clean.
The game makes me feel like a kid. Standing in the outfield ready for the next kick, smelling the grass and cheering on my fellow teammates keeps me coming back.
Photos: Scott Brotherton (action shots); GO Kickball Charlotte (social picture).
Tara Moore is a property manager that seeks new adventures just to write about them. She lives for summer lake days and hanging out with her pug, Jake.
This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 1:01 PM with the headline "5 ways adult kickball changed my life."