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In Focus: Kick Ball League of Ohio - Youngstown
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Adam Kagarise, of team, 4U2NV, winds up before a kick during a kickball game at Oakland Field on Youngstown’s East Side on Wednesday evening.
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Jerry Krzys, of Austintown, continues running toward Nicki Rymer, of Youngstown, after attempting to throw her out on her way home during a kickball game at Oakland Field.
The game you loved as a child, for adults
By Geoffrey Hauschild
Youngstown
The stadium at Oakland Field on Youngstown’s East Side reads 1939. For passers-by who find the hidden gem, it may as well be the date it was last in operation.
Patches of grass fill the baseball field’s infield, concrete from the bleachers crumbles away, and rust shows through on the stadium light posts.
Wednesday nights, however, the lights come on, the outfield becomes the infield, and the largely forgotten ball field comes alive playing host to the Kick Ball League of Ohio — Youngstown.
The league, open to men and women age 21 and over, has been in Youngstown since 2007, also hosting games at Pemberton Field on the city’s South Side. This fall, 14 teams, of adults, most in their later 20s and 30s, compete once a week through seven games, two of which make for a doubleheader.
All of this is in anticipation for a spot in the playoffs, a chance to take possession of the league’s traveling trophy, and, dependent on participation, a cash prize.
4U2NV is one of those 14 teams and this past Wednesday marked its doubleheader of the season. The evening started well as the team faced off and won against a team, whose name was equally as playful, but less discreet.
It’s that freedom to joke with teammates, opponents and officials alike that gives the league its appeal. Everyone comes to have a good time, and though competition exists in the heat of a play, its quick to give way to laughter.
After losing their second game in over time, one team member asked, “Are we going to make it to the playoffs?” The captain said he didn’t know, and the teammate replied, “Man I wish you would’ve told me, I would’ve tried harder.”
As nighttime arrives sooner and the chill in the air marks the winding down of a season, playoffs likely appeal because of their guaranteed good time, but the league will be back in the spring, when they typically have even greater turnouts.
More information can be found at www.kickballohio.com