Ricky Laforge rounds third and heads for the plate. It’s overtime and the former All-American has a championship in mind. He jumps, flips then slides. Safe.
Laforge just won a professional kickball game.
A shaky video of the play wound up on YouTube. Before long, it reached 360,000 views and was featured on ESPN, the “Today” show and the Huffington Post.
For a brief moment, Laforge and competitive kickball, a growing trend that started in the District, garnered national attention.
Laforge’s traveling team, the New York Shower Hammers, is ranked No. 1 on its circuit and could bank about $17,000 for the season if it wins a few more tournaments. The team’s next tourney is Friday in Arlington.
“I used to be a little bit embarrassed,” said Oakley Hall, the Shower Hammers’ team captain. “But in the last couple years, I think people have started to get the idea that the sport we play is really a lot different than just kickball.”
The rules are similar to the pickup games you played as a kid during recess, but the person pitching the ball is likely a former athlete rolling the ball full speed — with spin.
The rosters include beach bums, attorneys, CEOs and former athletes, including ex-Major League Soccer players.
Laforge, who was an All-American wrestler in college, said kickball lets him scratch that competitive itch now that his “official” athletic career is over.
The adult kickball craze started in the District in 1998. Johnny LeHane, co-founder of the World Adult Kickball Association, said he and a group of friends had the idea at a local bar.
“We thought we should have some other excuse to gather together besides $1 beer nights,” he said.
The game spread across the country as it focused on the social aspect of the sport. WAKA now coordinates leagues in more than 35 states.
Some of the most serious kickball players will flock to Long Bridge Park in Arlington on Friday for the DC Kickball365 Open Tournament. The winning team will take home $2,500.
