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12 - Illinois Parks and Recreation
November/ December 2004 - 13 The Rockford Park District's 50 and Older Softball League has grown 73 percent from 63 to 109 players in three years. The league draws players from Winnebago, Ogle, Boone and DeKalb counties. But this isn't just a Northern Illinois anomaly. Across the nation as baby boomers rush into their 50s and 60s, their active lifestyles translate into active, lifelong leisure skills. One of those is softball. In March 2002, Senior Softball News reported that 10 million men and women had quit playing softball, but the percentage of softball players who were seniors had increased from 5 to 12 percent. Two years later, the same publication reported that the total number of softball players had leveled off thanks mainly to the increase in senior citizen participation.
If senior softball isn't among your recreation offerings, perhaps it soon will be. Rockford's senior softball league may not be the perfect model for your program. But for three years the players have had a great time getting reacquainted with the game. And the staff has learned a few lessons about programming for seniors that can apply to other agencies and other sports. A look at the evolution of the Rockford program just might convince your agency to take up the challenge of starting a senior league of your own. Starting the Program The senior league at Rockford is an outgrowth of a less formal softball program the daytime drop-in program. Sue Howard, program coordinator with the Rockford Park District's Community and Therapeutic Recreation Team, has been running such programs as the Rockford Area Senior Olympics and senior fitness walks for several years. In 1995, she decided to start the daytime drop-in softball program in a neighborhood park. She approached co-worker Vance Barrie, the district's marketing manager and an avid softball player, and he agreed to help with the fledgling program. They contacted the staff of their eight-diamond softball complex and picked up some leftover bats, gloves and bases to help equip the diamond as well as participants who might not have equipment. The drop-in program attracted men and women retirees as well as many players who were still employed. One player, an accounting professor at Northern Illinois University, traveled 45 minutes from Sycamore on a regular basis
14 - Illinois Parks and Recreation to play once school was over. Employees of two local new car dealerships rearranged their schedules to attend the drop-in program. In 2001, Howard saw that the Illinois Senior Olympic Games in Springfield held a senior softball tournament in conjunction with the games. She approached the drop-in players. A group of them eagerly accepted the challenge and played in Springfield. They lost every game. But that was the spark needed to grow the program. Why a senior league? Many players still strive to compete with the younger players in their leagues, but reflexes and eyesight aren't quite the same as they used to be. "I started playing slo-pitch softball in the 1980s, playing church league ball and then forming teams with co-workers and friends to participate in the park district leagues. But, as I reached my 50s, it was harder to compete with the younger guys. My depth perception changed as I got older, and playing the outfield under the lights became a challenge at our softball complex," says Barrie. Many people experience similar changes in their bodies and abilities as they age. A league would be a way to give the more serious older players a safe, competitive experience. Making the Transition from Drop-In Program to a Senior League
Leagues, of course, require more scheduling and more commitment from the players themselves. The Rockford Park District runs 14 leagues with 271 teams, so the expertise to add another wasn't hard to come by. However, forming the senior players into a bona fide league did pose some new challenges. Most often, softball leagues are set up to register teams, not individuals. Self-selected teams come to the league with their rosters typically filled with a group of men who attend the same church or a bunch of women who work at the same company. Seniors - especially retired seniors may not have these kinds of social networks from which to gather 14 or 15 players. One of the reasons for the success of the drop-in program is that the players are relieved of the burden of scraping together a team and finding a
November/December 2004 - 15
sponsor to come up with the team's league entry fee. So, the district was faced with the tasks of finding enough committed players, forming them into teams and going after sponsorships. How would potential players be reached? Promotion was not enough. Registration forms were pulled for every individual who played in 1996 regular park district leagues and a mailing list was developed of all those who would be 50 or older in 2002. We also used registrations from the district's other senior programs. After weeding out the duplicates and double-checking the addresses, we started with a list of 200 people who were 50 and older. We also reviewed two different local monthly senior publications and contacted all the advertisers about being sponsors for the league. That secured three of our initial four team sponsors. The sponsors provided the hats and shirts and helped offset other field and staffing costs. An individual entry fee was still required to help with expenses. Choosing Up Sides The first year, we had four teams all men. Two women signed up and dropped out before the league started. We put together a list of all the players in order by age, oldest to youngest and divided the players into groups of four teams so the average age on each team was 59. Were the teams all bunched up in the standings? Of course not! The teams had records of 11-1, 7-5, 4-8, and 2-10. Age doesn't equal ability. The second year, we allowed players to list a couple of teammates they'd like to play alongside. The third year, we restricted self-selected teams to no more than eight players, and we filled out the remainder of the rosters with players who did not sign up with a group. We've played 12-game schedules all three years. Each team has a manager to assign positions and the batting order. One team even has a social director, who picks a restaurant for the players and their spouses to talk about the game and life in general after every contest. The league has something unique to most softball programs. A weekly newsletter reports standings, game results, the schedule, league statistics and features player profiles. It helps the players know more about each other. For example, the first year of the league, two teammates found out they both had graduated from St. Joseph, Illinois High School, in a small town east of Champaign. Who Are the Players? Players come from all walks of life. The average age is 59. Name the occupation and chances are you'll find one of the players did or does it. There are two practicing accountants who are older than a retired accounting professor from Northern Illinois University.
The retired minister is head of a national organization working against the expansion of gambling. He often misses games to testify before many state legislatures. He missed more games this season after he made a spectacular diving catch and broke his forearm. Another player is a voting member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He formerly covered the Mets and Yankees for a number of years out east and played ball his second year with a former co-worker from the DeKalb Daily Chronicle. Another player won the Midwest National Demolition Derby in
16 - Illinois Parks and Recreation
Ohio in 1984 and got a Pinto for his prize. When the registration forms came in the first year, player Jim Caruso's phone number had an area code of 402in Nebraska. We were puzzled until we found out Caruso was the City of Rockford's new community development director and an avid softball player from Lincoln, Nebraska. Several of our players also play ball in Florida or Arizona, where they spend winters. Half of one team is made up of current or retired Daimler-Chrysler plant employees. The league's youngest player is 50 and the oldest are a trio of 73-year-olds. Age is a state of mind. These people are all young at heart. Rules Are the rules different? Yes and no. The basic rules are the same as almost any other slo-pitch league, but there are several concessions to the safety of the players. Rather than sliding, base runners can run through second and third base like they do at first. And there are two home plates. One is for the batter and the catcher, and one is for the base runner. The second home plate is eight feet away from the batting home plate on a line running from first base to past the batting home plate. A play at the plate involves the defensive player standing on the batting home plate waiting for the throw while the runner goes for the scoring home plate. If the ball arrives in the defensive player's glove before the runner touches the scoring home plate, the runner is out. There is also a commitment line about half way down the third base line so the runner can't draw a throw simply to break up another fielding play. We also use the double safety base at first, which has been standard for about eight or nine years now. Similar to our two home plates, the double safety first base is an orange base that is on the right side of the first base bag. For a play at first, the runner touches the orange portion of the base while the fielder tries to tag the white portion. If a ball is hit to the outfield and the runner tries for extra bases, then he uses the white portion of the base. Because this is a participatory league, all players are allowed to bat, regardless of how many show up. If 15 players show up, they all bat and they should all play half the game on defense. In the league's third year, an eleventh defensive fielder was added to help get more players on the field. Most teams will place that person as a rover in back of the infield. We picked this up from two teams of mostly 65+ players from the Addison/ Villa Park and Naperville/ Schaumburg areas who came in last October to play against some of our players. November/December 2004 - 17
We have a pre-season meeting to introduce any proposed new rules, and if the majority of players don't like them, we don't incorporate them. The only time we dictate is on safety issues, such as not using double-walled bats in the league. We also get input from the players at our year-end picnic. As Sue Howard says, "This is truly a league of our own. Everyone plays. There's always someone to play with, and everyone knows your name." It's Fun "People of all abilities are welcomed in our league. This is a league where we have run into familiar faces from our past. Some have reacquainted themselves from high school days, working days and playground days. Many friendships are being made each summer," says Howard. Now that the league is up and running, the greatest recruiting tools are the players themselves. They are constantly enlisting friends and former teammates. "I enjoy it because it's a friendly competition. There are never any arguments. It's fun," says second baseman Rob Trimble.
Seventy-one-year-old Jack Miles likes the excitement of the game. "I'm a pitcher and you have to be on your toes. I get along with all the guys. I'll keep playing until my body says I can't. I keep active and still do plastering work part time. I played baseball and basketball in high school and then fast-pitch softball. For a couple of years in the 1950s, I spent the winters in California working and playing ball." Bonnie Smith has been to every game her husband Tom has played in the past three years. "It's good exercise for these fellows. They enjoy it and it's fun to watch them." Bonnie is not alone. There are not only spouses who come out to cheer on
18 - Illinois Parks and Recreation the teams, but sometimes the parents of the players, the grown children of the players and grandkids. After 68-year-old Rudy Wirth's heroics were the catalyst of an upset victory, his teammates chanted, "Ru-dee, Ru-dee," while two of his grandsons looked on in pride with big smiles of admiration on their faces. Sammy Ferguson's daughter shoots pictures of her dad, while her daughter watches grandpa play, a reversal of what usually happens at rec leagues at our district. Bob Stowers of Machesney Park says, "I heard about the league for the past three years and decided it was time to play." Dave Peterson of Rockford says, "My wife pushed me to get out here. I'm glad she did. It's fun. I even get to play against my brother-in-law and beat his team." Tom Hoover and Greg Yagle have watched the senior league grow the past three years. The first two years they umpired the league and saw the fun the guys were having and joined up in 2004. They still umpire, and it's not unusual for them to have a 6:00 p.m. game and officiate the following games. "I haven't played for four or five years and am glad to get back out playing," says Yagle. The Past is the Future for This League
That desire to be a kid again, or at least to play like one, is enduring, and that's why leagues like this are needed and will last. At Rockford, we expect to see continued growth. There are many possible scenarios: Two divisions -recreational and competitive; new age brackets - 50 and over, 60 and over, etc.; broader scheduling - a mid-morning league and an evening league; or a combination of those ideas. The league will expand. The players' and staff guidance will determine how and when. And each spring men and women with a lot of gray under their ball caps will continue to have the opportunity to step in - like a kid -when the umpire calls, "Batter up!"
Vance Barrie is the marketing manager for the Rockford Park District
November/December 2004 - 19
20 - Illinois Parks and Recreation |
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