What makes PCSSA players pick up the glove and bat and return to the diamond in their golden years?
Fred Dresser
Previous articles brought the reader up to speed on the growth of the PebbleCreek Senior Softball Association (PCSSA) as well as how the game of softball started.
The question that remains is: What exactly draws the individuals who play this game at this stage of their life back to playing a game from their younger years? There is not one answer but rather many answers.
The individuals who play in the PCSSA today more than likely played in their younger years and then laid down the bat and glove to focus on their careers and families as evidenced by the many walks of life that these individuals came from.
Now in their golden years, they once again picked up the glove and bat and returned to the diamond to play a game that basically hasn’t changed that much over the years. What has changed was the speed that they once enjoyed is now just a little bit slower, the throws don’t travel as far, and the swinging of the bat is sometimes not as accurate as it once was. In addition, muscles that haven’t been used in a few years all of a sudden become pulled and take just a little longer to heal. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the good-natured bantering that takes place between the players before, during, and after the game.
When we talk about these individuals, we’re not talking strictly about just men, as the PCSSA also has young ladies who play in the league as well. These women can play ball.
As mentioned earlier, there are many answers as to why these men and women play this game called softball, however, I believe the following statement pretty well sums it all up:
“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.”—Mickey Mantle