Play Ball!

Winter has always been the enemy of baseball. While the majority of the United States battles blizzards, rainstorms and the accompanying cabin fever, athletes and sports lovers are forced to turn their attention to other games. Basketball, hockey and just recently the Winter Olympics may serve as a semidistraction, but for those whose dreams are filled with visions of diving catches in freshly cut fields and the sound of a bat’s sweet spot exploding against a speeding albino sphere, nothing really compares. Come winter, the American pastime becomes forced to do just that, pass the time until spring thaws it out and summer brings it life anew.

Unless, that is, you happen to live in Southern California. Here, quite under the radar (perhaps to prevent a mass exodus of baseball players and fans to the West Coast) the purest game of them all defies Mother Nature and rages on year round. Local softball teams with colorful monikers like Scared Hitless, Black Mamba and Sons of Pitches as well as clubs with slightly less eloquent names like 805 Legends and Ventura’s Finest take to city parks for peaceful battle on the white-lined diamond.

What makes it so unique is that all cultures, classes, races and even religions play. From money-making CEOs to barely surviving fast food employees to current stay-at-home moms to former semi pro players, they all can hope for one thing in common come game time … good clean fun. Despite having as many twists, turns, characters and controversies as you’d find in the major leagues, the city of Ventura’s adult sports leagues remain mostly a well-kept secret. Lately though, it feels as if Ventura is on the verge of a full-fledged sports boom led by the cornerstone of the leagues — softball.

The league

City-sponsored leagues run throughout the year in three different, nine-week seasons, with the last week acting as the playoffs. Fall (from September to December), Spring (from January to April) and Summer (from June to August) make up the seasons. The sports offered are softball (men’s and coed), basketball (men’s), soccer (men’s and coed) and even flag football and kickball. Though there’s not a specific women’s-only division, women are welcome to play on any men’s team. There are multiple divisions based on skill level, and anyone older than 16 is welcome to play.

While all that’s standard in cities across America, it’s the sheer number of people playing in Ventura that’s overwhelming. An average season will have more than 25 basketball teams playing three nights a week, 30 soccer teams playing one night a week and an amazing 130 softball teams playing six nights a week on five different fields. That’s more than 2,500 people playing organized sports every single week. It’s so many people, one would think the city leagues deserve their own coverage in the daily paper’s sports section. The many responsibilities that go with being in charge of that many people fall squarely on the shoulders of one incredibly busy man.

The Commish

Meet Adam Singleton. The 30-year-old’s official title is “Community Service Coordinator for Adult Sports and Corporate Games.” Presumably because that’s a mouthful or maybe because “the CSCFASACG” doesn’t quite have a ring to it, he’s commonly referred to by most players as “The Commissioner.”
A graduate of Nordhoff High School in Ojai, Singleton took the position in 2004, and since then, his phones (he has two public lines and one private) have not stopped ringing. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for his phone to ring at 4 a.m. with a self-explanatory question about scheduling or an overzealous player reporting that an opposing team is using an illegal bat, by far the league’s biggest and most ongoing controversy. He roams the different fields every night, keeping a close eye on teams and standings to make sure each is in the appropriate league, all the while constantly working on the enormous scheduling responsibilities and keeping up with the ever-expanding list of “juiced-up bats.”
What’s had Singleton busier than ever though, oddly enough, is the recession.

“There’s been a definite increase in teams and players,” explains Singleton. “Personally, I think that’s because of the relatively inexpensive cost. For instance, to register a softball team, it costs $350. You get 10 people and that’s only $35 a person. That’s for eight or more weeks of entertainment. To take 10 people to the movies every week for eight weeks would be over $800. Beyond the great deal, people are looking to blow off steam these days and have a good time. Sports help do that.”

What Singleton has personally brought to the leagues in his time as commissioner is an effort to make it more of a family outing. During his time in charge, he’s banned the consumption of alcohol during games, an act at the time considered by many to be sacrilege. Beer does have a long historical association with softball, but the bold move proved fruitful and has virtually eliminated all fights, severely reduced tensions, and has helped bring more family-oriented players to the field. Still, despite the normally high level of sportsmanship, from time to time, things can get heated, and Singleton has had to add babysitter/mediator to his list of duties.

“It can get intense,” laughs Singleton. “Sports do change people and they get caught up in the moment; but when there is an issue, I simply remind them that it’s just softball. That simple statement works more often than you’d think at settling a problem.”

As for the variety of participants, Singleton treats everyone with the same amount of respect. From a full-fledged newbie who is literally learning how to swing a bat to a grizzled vet who may play four times a week, they all have one thing in common, explains Singleton: “They’re baseball people.”

The Veteran

If there’s any one person who defines local softball, Lionel Gill be thy name. A player, manager, umpire and private coach, Gill is a “softball die-hard.” Fifty-eight years young and recently retired, Gill is involved in some form of softball virtually every day of the week. His claim to fame, though, is as the manager and player of two traveling senior league teams, the R and R Double Nickel and the R and R Sixtees. The teams, comprising of almost all local players, have traveled the United States playing softball and, more so, winning major tournaments, including the Winter World Championship this past November in Florida as well as other major events in Seattle and Las Vegas. When he’s not crisscrossing the country representing the 805 via bat and ball, Gill keeps sharp by playing on two Ventura city league teams, Relentless and R and R, as well as umpiring.

“I was always too little to play professionally,” says the ultrapositive Gill. “To this day, I’d pay to play pro ball, but this is the next best thing for a guy like me. The young guys have a lot of respect for the senior players, and everyone, no matter what age, always has fun. I’ve played all over the country, and the Ventura and Oxnard leagues are just excellent.”

Ventura County’s ideal weather conditions, to Gill, are a key component to softball’s local popularity and his team’s national success.

“East Coast players and Midwest players are limited,” explains Gill. “We live in a unique area where we can play all year round. We’ll go to events and see some of the guys from other areas, and it’s obvious it’s been a while since they played. The year-round aspect really does make for a better athlete. Especially for us old guys,” laughs Gill.

Is there any chance Ventura’s softball ambassador to the world will ever stop playing the game?
“I’ll stop playing if it ever isn’t fun anymore, but let’s face it, it’s always fun.”

The All Star

Brian Stevens was a star baseball pitcher at Buena High School. He attended Cal State, Fullerton, on a baseball scholarship and coaches and players alike felt the right-hander had major league potential. Then every athlete’s worst nightmare occurred. Early into his college career, an injury left him sidelined and in many ways contributed to a loss of love for the game. Finishing college, Stevens returned to Ventura and was quickly recruited for a softball team by his in-the-know cousin. Reluctant to get back into sports, he joined the team grudgingly and in the process rediscovered his love of the game.

“It was fun again. No pressure. Just guys playing ’cause they really enjoyed it,” explains the 21-year-old. “The skill level blew my mind as well. There’s some amazingly talented players that can make the higher divisions fun just to watch. It’s really something I look forward to every week and now I feel like I’m playing for the right reasons.”

The ultrahumble Stevens does admit that sometimes he plays to his opponent’s skill level and doesn’t think any good player enjoys beating up on a lesser opponent. He goes half-speed on his recreational coed team, but come playoffs in his men’s division team, “You see a guy going for it like it’s the World Series.”

The Rookie

Margo Byrne was a four-sport, award-winning athlete growing up in rural Missouri as well as in college. After relocating to Ventura in 2000, with a new job and a growing family, she drifted out of sports altogether. So last summer when Byrne, the executive director of the Ventura Family YMCA, was asked to join a city coed softball team, she agreed, if for no other reason than to spend some time with friends. Almost instantly, she knew it was the right decision.

“I realized how much I missed playing team sports,” explains the second baseman. “There’s a camaraderie that you get from playing sports in a smaller town that you really have to experience to appreciate.”

Byrne, who plays on The Tropics, a recreational division team whose members range from younger than 21 to older than 40, has been most inspired by the community aspect.

“It’s important that different people come together and share a similar interest. It pulls a community together. It’s a wonderful subculture, and you don’t realize how many people are involved till you participate. I’ll be at the Y and I’ll see someone from another team and we’ll both be like, ‘Hey… don’t you play softball?’ It’s an instant connection. I’ve made so many new friends in just two seasons, people that without the city’s adult sports league I never would have met. You can’t put a price on that.”

The City of Ventura Adult Sports League can be contacted online at www.cityofventura.net and by phone at 658-4726. To view current team standings and upcoming games, visit www.sportsstandings.com/ cityofventura.