Game day!

In about nine hours we’ll have a new sixth grade city champion in kickball, and M’s team just might be that team. It’s a perfect day for kickball, too! It’s going to be hot and clear, which is ideal for heating the asphalt to well over 100° – so everyone – players, coaches, and families watching – is all sweating uncontrollably. I especially enjoy it when my sweat drips onto the scorebook and smears my notations.

Our coach went down to the semifinal game yesterday to do some scouting. We don’t have a final score yet, but our nemesis St. B’s was way ahead when she left, so we’re assuming they will be the opponent. She said they’re really good, but if our girls play defense the way they’re capable, we can absolutely win the game.

The girls all seem excited for the game. We’ll see if they’re still loose after school, or if any of them are as nervous as us parents will be. We tried to sneak in two practices, but as has been the story of this fall in Indy, Friday’s was interrupted by heavy rains that caused flash flooding. So we retired to Dairy Queen, which is a solid backup plan.

I got a good distraction from my nerves yesterday: for the first time in my life, I won tickets to a concert from a radio station give-away. I’m super, duper excited for the show I get to see, but that’s a whole other post that you’ll get to read tomorrow.

One other quick kickball story before I go try to distract myself from thinking about tonight’s game. My girls and I were out practicing kicking, pitching, and fielding in the cul-de-sac a couple nights ago. We were using a really old kickball that was worn down to a single shade of orange.[1] A neighbor down the street was walking his dog after work and saw us. A few minutes later he strolled over carrying a yellow playground ball.
A Real Kickball

“If you want to play kickball, you should use this,” he said as he offered the bouncy-ball to me.

“Ah, this IS a kickball, R!” I said as I passed him our Mikasa. “At least it is if you go to Catholic school in Indianapolis.”

I explained how the girls play for St. P’s, how I’m the coordinator, and my back-story of insulting S on our first date when she told me kickball was one of the sports she played growing up. He was flabbergasted.

“I thought that was a basketball! They really play with this? Do people get hurt? It’s so hard!”

My job is not just putting teams together, recruiting coaches, and issuing jerseys. Also I am an ambassador for the sport, spreading the truth of CYO kickball to the ignorant masses.

  1. Remember, CYO kickball uses the Mikasa S3030 kickball, which is hard like a basketball and checkered like a soccer ball.  ↩