We all know it takes a village to raise successful kids, thanks to Hillary Clinton. Adults need their community, too. In Montville, it took a bunch of “softball junkies,” led by Laura Tanner, to pull off a hopping adult coed softball league.
Over the course of about eight weeks, starting in July, the league attracted between 125 and 150 adults, men and women, all age 18 or older, who played on eight teams.
The response was so strong, Tanner said, that she had to ask a few teams to merge to eight, instead of 11, to keep the game schedule manageable. By the end of August, the teams begged to keep going, so she whipped up another schedule. The final game of the season was played by the last diehards on Sept. 28.
It was a fabulous season,” she said. “Fifty-year-olds could play with 20-year-olds and we all fit together, we all played together so well.”
Parks and Recreation Commissioner Dot Murtha brought Tanner, an energetic volunteer, to one of the commission’s meetings some months back. After a brief presentation by Tanner, who volunteered to do all of the legwork if the town provided a place for the teams to play, the commission gave it the go-ahead.
The objective was to have a social event, where people could get together, come out and play, and have fun. Late Sunday turned out to be a good time for parents to schedule in a little time for themselves. All games were played at Camp Oakdale, equipped with a handy playscape for children in tow.
“One of my main goals was to get the adults out,” said Tanner, who enjoyed playing on an adult league in Ledyard about eight years ago. “It’s great that we spend time with our kids, but sometimes we don’t take time out for ourselves. Everyone can find an hour a week for themselves.”
“Our ultimate goal is that we offer programs that people in the community want,” said Eileen Cicchese, Parks and Rec commissioner. “The adult softball league was a perfect example of where there was a need and an interest, and it worked.”
A couple of years ago, Cicchese got a similar program going for adult volleyball in town, bringing her own volleyballs to get the league going. That program is planned for this winter, as well, based on participant interest and registration.
Tanner and her husband, Robert, fashioned the league rules based on what had worked well in Ledyard, plus the Electric Boat league, where Robert works and plays on the league.
Each team had to have at least two female members, with one playing on the field at all times. Games could last only one hour and were played only on Sunday evenings. They threw in a couple of rules to keep the game moving, including any pitch that hit the home plate was an automatic strike. Teams could have players from other towns, but everyone had to sign a Montville P&R injury waiver form.
Team rules also stressed safety and keeping the game fun and slow enough to minimize injuries. Only ASA-approved aluminum bats were allowed—no alloy or double-walled bats—and the games were played with gold dot balls. No base stealing was permitted. The list of rules included the reminder “Remember, we have to work the next day for our families.”
“No one got hurt,” said Tanner. “We all pulled muscles once in a while. Some of us haven’t played for 20 years, and we were all a little sore, but no one got hurt in the game.”
The start-up program didn’t cost the town anything to run, Cicchese noted.
Players were asked to bring their own equipment, from balls and bats to their own gloves and cleats, if they wanted them. Uniforms were not required, and most teams just went by their coach’s last names.
One team, a bunch of youth league ball coaches, led by Pat Bogan, came up with their name and pitched in for team shirts. They were the Montvillans.
Local business owner John Diamantini recruited friends and family members, including owners of the new Lickety Split ice cream shop in Oakdale for Team Diamantini.
Lewis Armstrong, who works at Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, pulled together coworkers and family members for Team Armstrong.
Team Iacionello, organized by Tony Iacionello, owner of Tony’s Well Drilling Company, often was cheered on by Tony’s father.
Trish Szot, who works at Electric Boat and helps with the Montville Soccer League, organized her team of family and friends. Matt Pomerenke pulled together Team Pomerenke, and Anita Hallbauer organized Team Hallbauer.
Tanner’s team, Team Tanner, was made up of mostly Little League coaches and softball addicts, and had five women, including Karen Perkins, who coaches the youth major league team sponsored by P&H Construction, and her husband, Chris, and Sue Kobyluck and her husband, Ray, as well as a few ringers from Electric Boat.
“Montville Parks and Rec, Jim Butler and the commissioners were very on board with starting things for the adults,” said Tanner, who also coaches the Curves Little League team, is assistant coach on the P&H Construction team, and coached the All Stars this year. She also is a paraprofessional with special needs children at Oakdale School.
“The word on the street is that we’re going to have so many teams next year, I won’t know how to make the schedule,” she laughed. “It was truly a huge success, and I’m looking forward to doing it again next year.”
Parks and Recreation Welcomes
Residents’ Feedback
“Now is the time for people to identify what they would like to see in the Parks and Rec budget for the next year,” said Eileen Cicchese, noting that most of Montville’s programs offered are for children, yet commission members are hearing that adults in town want more activities for themselves.
Montville has the authority for a special revenue account (SRA), although commission Chairman Stanley Gwudz, Parks Director Jim Butler, and Montville Finance Director Theresa Fafard are still working out the details, she said. An SRA would allow Parks and Recreation to bring in monies from program registration and determine how to allocate these for future programs and services, without sending the funds through the town’s central budget.
A quick survey by Cicchese, who also is director of Groton Parks and Recreation, a paid position, of other Connecticut parks and recreation departments showed that other towns have been using SRAs for years to have more flexibility in their program offerings and be more responsive to interests of their residents.
“We’re trying to be creative with how we do things, and how we can offer more,” she said.
If town residents haven’t received the new Montville Parks and Recreation Fall 2008 program brochure, they can contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 848-3030, ext. 321 or 322. Program information also is posted online at www.townofmontville.org.