JEB: It doesn’t go that far.
KS: No. It doesn’t; and often in directions
than you don’t intend. Bunting becomes a
key strategy. What most teams do—at
least the experienced ones—is bunt three
times until the bases are loaded. If your
kicking lineup is structured the right way,
the big kicker is on-deck.
JEB: It has to be some kind of big kicker?
KS: This is where the skill and athleti-
cism did play a role. It is much tougher to
kick an adult kickball than it was in grade
school. In grade school, the pitchers were
rolling it nice and slow so you can kick it.
Here, they are throwing it overhand with
spin and bounces, so you do need some
athletic ability.
JEB: Are homeruns all that common?
KS: They are not. It’s easy to catch the
ball but it’s harder to kick with distance,
particularly if it’s spinning or bouncing. It
does go off in all sorts of directions.
JEB: Alright. So are there a lot of strikes?
KS: Oh yeah. And foul balls, too.
JEB: Ooh, when you try to kick some-
thing fairly hard and you miss so there is no
resistance, you can get pretty hurt.
KS: Yes, you can.
JEB: People with pulled muscles all the
time?
KS: Kicking does present some opportu-
nity for injury. But what I found was the
most risky was running the bases. If you
are running around the bases at full speed,
you are either going to pull a muscle or slip
and fall on the grass surface.
JEB: Or someone is going to bean you in
the head with a ball!
KS: Very realistic possibility.
JEB: So it’s dangerous, it’s fun, it’s base-
ball-like, but there is some strategy, of
course.
KS: Right. I think the thing that our team
worked most towards during the season
was just enjoying it. It’s a sport, it’s some-
what competitive, but it’s not supposed to
be. I mean, it’s kickball, after all.
JEB: Come on, it’s kickball!
KS: Exactly. Above all things, it’s a social
event. It is just a reason for young profes-
sionals to get together at a certain time at a
certain place to hang out in good weather.
There just happens to be a kickball game
going on. We had the most fun and suc-
cess when we approached it like that, not
being overly competitive and just taking it
www.vtbar.org
for what it is.
JEB: Is drinking going on during the
kickball game? From the WAKA Sunshine
League website, it looks like kickball might
have a strong social element.
KS: Oh yes. Many fans, fielders, and
even kickers are holding beverages.
runner, because the big red bouncy ball is
tough to pick up and throw.
JEB: If you took competitive sport on
one end of the spectrum and silly fun on
the other end, this is somewhere in the
middle?
KS: Yes, it’s somewhere in the middle.
There are certain teams that take it pretty
seriously and bring players who can pitch
really well and can throw you out from third
base, which is a tough skill to learn; and
then there are other teams who are carting
around coolers of Jell-O shots before the
game, and sharing them with other teams.
But the winner of this league goes to Vegas
for a national tournament, so there is some
incentive for teams to really compete.
JEB: So I looked online, and there are
lots of pictures of people in costumes, are
there events where people do that or do
you play in costume or do you have uni-
forms, or….
KS: They supply everybody with a t-shirt
for a uniform, they provide equipment for
the games, and because it is primarily a
social league, they hold at least 2 parties.
There is a cookout in the middle of the sea-
son where they give everyone burgers and
hotdogs…
JEB: The league does?
KS: The league does, paid for with the
individual registration fees. The parties are
just a way to bring teams together that may
not have socialized during the games.
JEB: Right.
KS: Then after the season, there was an
80’s party at Club Metronome.
JEB: Nice, those costumes…
KS: That is where I think the costumes
come from.
JEB: Ah but most of those people
weren’t even socializing or even alive in the
80’s!
KS: You’d be surprised. It seemed to be
a good mix of age groups in the league.
With 18 teams and 20-26 people on each
roster, there were plenty of people in the
league who probably lived through the 80s.
JEB: And this is just in the Burlington
area? That is several hundred people.
KS: It is. There are young people who
are probably still in college or grad school,
and then there were a few older people
who are bringing their kids and their fami-
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • WINTER 2016-17
9