IDAHO SPRINGS — They wore their tie-dye shirts. They had their nicknames, like Sun’s Out Guns Out, Vanilla Ice, Sunshine and, of course, Larry. And they spoke a sense of competitiveness with every word.
That is who the Ball Kickers are. And like the other seven teams involved every Monday night at one of the two Idaho Springs ballfields they take their adult co-ed kickball — yes, kickball — league seriously. Well, as serious as they can while enjoying a cold beverage in between innings.
“It’s real competitive,” said Vanilla Ice, otherwise known as Austin Dyer in between innings of his team’s game with Liquid Descent. “We’re actually friends with the other company, but, as you can tell, I’m sitting here yelling at them and cussing at them like I’ve never met them before. It gets intense.”
But, in reality, this is their fun time. Their weekly getaway from the real world.
“It’s so much fun. It’s a chance to be a kid again with all your friends,” said Kristen Russell, a team captain for the Ball Kickers. “It’s a blast and it involves drinking. It can’t get much more fun.”
The Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation District started the co-ed league approximately four years ago at the suggestion of Shelley Kohagen, who not only officiated one of this week’s games but has also played in leagues in Denver, Wheat Ridge and Golden.
“Kickball is huge. Almost every rec center had a kickball league,” Kohagen said.
This particular league offers eight teams, most, if not all, depending on availability, playing with at least four male and four female participants per roster. Games are seven innings or one hour in length, whichever comes first.
It also offers a unique bond among the team members, most of whom work alongside each other.
“It’s the camaraderie among the rafting companies. Most of the rafting companies field a team,” said Alan Blado, the owner of Liquid Descent. “Most raft guys are good athletes, so they’re naturally gifted athletically and very competitive.”
He would know. His team won the league championship in 2010 and was 6-0 after its Aug. 1 victory, 5-1, over the Ball Kickers, heading into next week’s league tournament. So is it all fun and games or is this serious business?
“We play for fun, but we also play to win,” Blado said.
And every once in a while that competitive spirit shows through in the more heated arguments. That’s when Kohagen and her fellow officials have to step in and remind the players it’s just a game.
“It’s very competitive. It gets a little out of hand sometimes, and you always have to remind them it’s just kickball. About 10 times a game you remind them it’s just kickball,” Kohagen said.
Tell the teams that.