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Adults Get Kicks And Nicks From Kickball

Wisconsin State Journal
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Lesley Rogers Barrett - Wisconsin State Journal

There are rules.
The home and away teams are determined by "rock, paper, scissors."

There's also a "no cheese rule" where a player is not allowed to intentionally miss an easy pop up, just to tag out a runner.

But in adult coed kickball leagues in Madison, it's mostly just fun on a playground. And unlike when you played the game as a kid, this time around, there's beer.

Rosters for kickball leagues sponsored by the Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association and Legends Sports are packed with hundreds of twenty-to-fortysomethings playing in spring, summer and fall leagues.

As a player for a team named "Ding! The Fries Are Done," Frank Kennedy of Madison was "rockin' the socks" at a game last week, adding black and white striped knee-high socks to his uniform.

As he drained a brewski and waited for his turn at the plate, he said kickball incorporates his favorite pastimes.

"I enjoy drinking and kicking balls," Kennedy said.

Middleton-based Legends Sports first started adult kickball leagues in 1999 in Madison, and now there are more than 16 teams playing at Wingra Park on the near West Side.

The Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association has from 15 to 30 teams playing each season at Demetral Field on Madison's East Side. The association runs kickball and other retro-playground leagues in the Twin Cities, the Fox Valley and Milwaukee.

The kickball craze is in full swing, thanks to the laid back rules and a desire to return to simpler days.

"This is something from your childhood," said Mike Glass, the Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association coordinator. "Some people say it's a fad, I really don't think so."

The rules are similar to softball -- with the exception that a player can throw the ball directly at a base runner for an out. Using a standard playground rubber ball, a pitcher rolls the ball over the plate. "Batters" can get a running start and kick the ball.

The team names are juvenile and slightly obscene. Some are clever -- like "Militant Kindergarten Front" -- but most involve references to beer or kicking male reproductive organs.

Certain teams show exceptional athletic talent -- one player didn't even take the cigarette out of his mouth to tag a runner out at second base.

In her second season playing for "Kick This, Drink That," Beth Staus of Madison said the league is a good way to meet people. She used to play softball, but after college, she said "it was like, now what?"

"It's cheap, you can drink beer and it's not too competitive," Staus said, sipping from a can of Pabst. "People have a good sense of humor."

Paul Willemsen of Madison is in his third season. Last year, he played most of the season with a pulled groin.

On Thursday, his knees were bloodied after making a heroic play. Runners were on first and second, with no outs. A ball was popped up on the line. Willemsen, the pitcher, went for it, diving on both knees to catch the ball.

It was a circus catch, and best of all, he avoided knocking over a can of beer in the infield.

Shawn Dugan, commissioner of Legends Sports, said it was hard to get kickball teams at first. Now, he's doubling participation every year.

"The game hasn't changed much since fifth grade," Dugan said. "We're just older and bigger."

Dugan is in the midst of a dispute with Madison parks officials over use of Wingra Park, where the popularity of kickball has outgrown the site, said Parks Director Jim Morgan. Also, Dugan hasn't been paying permit fees for use of the park sites. Both sides said they plan to work something out.

"Adult kickball is all the rage; we recognize that," Morgan said.

Bill Zillmer of Madison has played kickball for five seasons.

"It's a way to get out of the house. It's just fun. People think it's childish, but it's really cool," Zillmer said. "It's better than sitting on the couch watching TV."

And there are the bragging rights.

"I can tell people -- I play kickball," Zillmer said.

Summer kickball leagues in Madison are already under way, but fall leagues will start in a few months.

For more information:

* Midwestern Unconventional Sports Association is on the Internet at www.musakickball.com/index.htm.

* Legends Sports is on the Internet at www.eteamz.com/legendssports/

Contact Lesley Rogers Barrett at lrogers@madison.com or 252-6139