Thursday, March 12, 2009

To Softball or Not to Softball

Softball season has already kicked off and I missed the first official team practice for the 2009 season. My excuse was the new baby, but the real issue is whether I am still fit for team sports. I know plenty of people who continue to play basketball, soccer and even football into their 40’s. Brett Favre is playing in the NFL at 38. However, I have admitted it is time to rethink team sports which require burst efforts, dynamic movements and agility.

The basketball and flag football leagues I played in naturally folded as StorageTek was acquired by Sun Microsystems and the leagues were eliminated. Softball I have hung onto as my team plays in a co-ed recreational city league. Statistics will tell you softball injuries are at least 8X as likely as running injuries which I have been plagued with. However, I should be able to ratchet it down and stick to 50-75% effort without being a liability to the team.

The time impact is relatively minor as I can always get out of the house a couple of hours on Sunday mornings. By the end of the season, I could even expect the family to go out to a game or two.

The scheduling impact may be tougher with the triathlon training I have started. I also have a race scheduled for the middle of softball season. At this point I am leaning on signing up and paying my dues with the intention of coming out the first 4 weeks of the season and then making a decision going forward. The season runs from April through June with a tournament in July. I think there are actually only 10 playing weeks which are mostly double headers.

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