SEEEEE-YA!

Like so many of you, adult kickball arrived in my life through a set of coincidences and happenstance meetings.  However, as similar as our arrivals on a kickball field may be, we each have a unique story about what kickball meant in our lives.  I started playing in the WAKA VA Peninsula league five years ago.  It was a time in my life when I felt adrift and lonely.  I needed something in my life to meet new people and provide an outlet.  

Me before kickball.  Alone and adrift.

Kickball on the Peninsula gave me that and so much more.  I’ve tried to give back over the years, but honestly, there is nothing I can possibly do to repay all that has been given to me so freely (or for $72 per season).  Therefore, before I take my talents to CT Ivy, I wanted to thank a few teams and individuals who have been there along the way.  This may appear to be a vanity project and to be upfront any writing I’ve ever done is in fact a vanity project.  If you can see past my shameless self-promotion at points and get to the core of what I really want to say, I hope you realize three things.  1) You may never know what an impact you have on someone’s life just by being present, being friendly, and playing a recess game on Wednesday nights. 2) We have something uniquely special here.  There are other kickball leagues and organizations that play together, have fun together, and build friendships together, but there has never been an organization in my experience which has shown the amount of love our league has over the past five years. 3) Embrace and enjoy this experience while you have it.  You never know when it could come to an end for any number of reasons.  Go out and hug someone special on the field tonight.  Take a picture with your friends.  Do something stupid at the bar or on the field (like try to go first to third on me).  Live it up friends.

The 3U3D Crew-Brent, Mat and Brandon:  I listed you guys first and then decided I would come back and try to fill this section in later.  I now realize what a mistake that was.  It’s impossible to document how much time we have spent together doing the podcast, hanging out at the field and the sponsor bar, and talking daily on the super-secret 3U3D chat (spoiler: it’s a lot about wrestling, tv shows, and Pusheen GIFs).  They’ve been the best friends and support group a dude could ask for.  As an additional note, however much time you think Brent puts into making this kickball league great in actuality it’s a lot more. 

Matt has found the hair I've lost.

I've found the weight Brent lost.

3U3D Note-WAGs-Katie, Dottie and Robyn:  Thank you for being understanding of our insane hobby and sharing your homes and significant others with me.  All three of you have fed me and let me sleep on your couches at varying points in the last three years.

Emmanuel Anderson (aka Manny): Early on in my kickball experience I heard Brent refer to John LaNeave as his hetero-life-kickball partner.  Manny made me understand what that statement meant in my own career.  Beginning when I was reluctantly accepted on the 2011-2012 Kick Ass winter season team, I’ve been on at least eight different WAKA kickball teams with Manny.  There isn’t a more positive, helpful and caring man I’ve had the pleasure of playing alongside.  I would join any team that Manny was on solely because of his positive presence (also he’s pretty athletic and talented on the field if you hadn’t noticed).  We won our first championship with Kick Ass and the majority of my time on the Peninsula was spent playing with Manny.  I’ll have a Black and Mild to share at the field with you tonight and any other time we find ourselves together on a field again.

Spring 2013 Wentworth Trophy Champs

My first season on KA was exciting!

Foul Balls: Andreas Beyersdorf is currently the captain of the Foul Balls just as he was the first day I stepped on the field at War Memorial.  I said it during the spring season, and I’ll say it again: Andreas runs a team in the purest model of what WAKA kickball embodies.  They show up to have fun, win some games, and ensure that everyone has a great time doing it.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of playing on one of Andreas’ teams, I highly recommend it.  Also, this guy is probably the most intelligent and hilarious person in the league.  You may not realize it because he likes to lay (relatively) low, but go talk to him and enjoy the conversation.  The Foul Balls as a team will always have a special place in my heart as my first team.  We won our first two games and then proceeded to lose 21 games in a row.  I kept coming back despite this historic losing streak, which is a testament to the wonderful cast of characters who have spent time in Foul Territory.

Cardiac Arrest: I made the decision to play my last few seasons on the Peninsula with a collection of some of my best kickball friends (more on them later).  The recent success of this team provided me the priceless line of: “I left VA Peninsula as a champion!”  That in itself is the greatest parting gift because it will keep on giving season after season.

Cardiac Arrest Note 1-Josh and Dani Joyner:  An extremely kind and giving couple.  They are good people and better friends.  Late at night you can giggle with Josh over video games and then walk down the hall to talk books with Dani.  Their home is my Shangri-La.  Also, they gave me the honor of officiating their wedding, which was amazing.

Cardiac Arrest Note 2-Ryan Schmid and Marilee Columbus: They have Pooltopia!  If you unfortunately only know these two on the field, they are quite the kickball odd couple.  The glittery, fresh-talking (its like trash talk, but its just really friendly) Marilee is full of spirit and, if you made the mistake of overlooking it, she had a top ten female kicking average this past season.  Ryan, on the other hand, has a simmering intensity on the field and a borderline reckless approach to the game as he goes all out on every play.  However, in the real world Ryan and Marilee have open hearts and endless enthusiasm for their friends…and they have Pooltopia!

AMERICA: The Patriot draft league was an unknown entity, but as is always the case, this league dove in head first.  AMERICA was the team I co-captained in the inaugural season and the experience was legen-wait for it-dary.  Everyone embraced the draft team concept and our team in particular.  I think I stayed in a state of constant excitement for a period of six weeks in the summer of 2012, but never was I more pumped than when we won the Cold War.  Sorry Matt Wellbrock, but here is the video of Daniel Shaw sealing the come from behind, walk-off win: America's Walk Off.

AMERICA: The Team

Peninsula Pounders (2012-2013 Edition): We never won any tournaments, but I had an amazing time travelling with this crew around the country to play kickball…kickball!  My highlights include my only bunt home run in CCC 2013 (I’ll spare everyone the video) and the 16 v. 1 elimination round win over OSC at DCKO 2013.  It was great to spend an entire week playing for the love of the game with this motley crew.

That day we went balls deep in Fully Loaded.

Four Score and Seven Beers Ago:  For anyone still wondering, Ryan Schmid came up with this team name and deserves most of the credit for keeping us together during the summer of 2014.  This team allowed me to finally be on a team with Matt and Katie Wellbrock and a host of others too many to mention. 

Jeremy Edge:  I never want to hurt your feelings by leaving you out, so here's this picture of us on that day you guaranteed me it would "get you so much ass on Tinder".

If you read this whole piece, then I’ll assume you either love me or are just too obsessed with kickball to avoid any lengthy blog post.  If I didn’t mention you specifically, its solely because this post was already bloated and overdone.  However, if you’re in the league and reading this the chance is that we have spoken, we have played with or against one another, and I’ve appreciated and enjoyed every second of that experience.  If you, nameless, formless mass of kickballers I’m imagining in my mind, were not there, then nothing written above would have happened so you deserve my greatest thanks.

But don't intentionally walk me tonight, I usually react poorly:

For the sake of balance, this is after Edge intentionally walked me.

Back before many of you were in this esteemed league, I would close all of my blog posts with some smelly hipsters playing rock n' roll.  Therefore, here is my closing road trip jam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo9GwYnZPCc