Adult Kickball Lets You Relive Your Favorite Childhood Pastime

There is a new adult kickball league in Fresno! I haven’t played kickball since I was in second grade at Baird Elementary (now a middle school), but I loved it. I’d wear my boots to school so that I could kick the ball farther.

A Chance to Meet New Friends

Valley Social Sports is the brainchild of Drew Roschli, whose title is Chief of Shenanigans. Drew works for BNSF Railroad and has lived in a variety of cities through his job. He found that one of the best ways to meet people was to join fun, social athletic clubs. When he landed in Fresno, he didn’t see anything like the fun leagues that he’d experienced elsewhere, so he decided to create one of his own.

Valley Social Sports kickball is a co-ed league for adults (18+). There are a minimum of four people from each gender per team, and 10-15 people per team. Teams consist of young professionals, Fresno State professors, construction workers, downtown residents, craft beer brewers… and even real estate agents (maybe a FresYes team, Jason Farris?).

City recreation departments have a wide variety of team sports, but they require that a full team sign up together. In Valley Social Sports, individuals, couples, or smaller groups of friends can sign up and are added to a team. This offers more flexibility and more chances to meet new people.

If you don’t remember how to play, here’s a refresher: Kickball is similar to baseball, but the pitcher rolls a larger rubber ball to the kicker (batter). You can strike out on a foul, unlike baseball. The defensive players can also throw the ball at a runner, unless they’re on base, to get them out.

Valley Social Sports kickball is more for fun than for competition, although there are awards for the winning and losing teams (you’re not going to want the loser’s trophy). Valley Social Sports provides the players with a t-shirt and they provide the balls, bases and umpires.

Making Use of One of Fresno’s Oldest Parks

One of the other special features of this kickball league is that it plays at Dickey Playground. Dickey Playground is one of Fresno’s oldest parks and is located on Blackstone and Divisadero. The park is on the border between Fresno’s historic Lowell Neighborhood and the Mural District, which is home to many of Fresno’s new lofts, art studios, and galleries.

Dickey Park was long overlooked because of its inner city location, but has recently been upgraded with new turf, a splash park, and new buildings. The neighborhood, churches, and City Parks Department have all chipped in to update this public space.

League Signups Are Happening Now

The next Valley Social Sports kickball league starts April 26 and goes thru June 14. Registration is $60 until April 19th, when it will go up to $65. A team captain (someone who brings an entire team) gets to register for free.

You can sign up now on the website. The league is currently playing on Wednesday nights, but are polling their members to see if they prefer Thursdays for the next league.

[Thanks to Drew Roschli and Valley Social Sports for the photos]