Work hard, play hard

Barnes MetalCrafters—Kickball Champs Spring 2018.

You know the old saying, “Work hard, play hard”? I think about this quite often. Sometimes things build up at work. You get stressed out, and you need to find a way to get it out of your system. Stress and work tension make a daily routine hard on the mind and body. Everyone gets their stress-relief fix in different ways, but I choose to play adult kickball.

Yeah, I said kickball. Adult kickball. I have been playing for years in an adult league sponsored by Parks and Recreation in New Bern, N.C. We have a spring and fall season, play once a week, and have a lot of fun. Most people you talk to who participate in adult league sports play softball. That is available too, but for me, there’s nothing better than a sport most people haven’t played in ages.

If I tell someone I have a game, they ask what sport I play. When I answer, they first say, “Seriously?!” I tell them a little about it, and they then say, “That is awesome! I haven’t played since I was in third grade!”

Barnes MetalCrafters sponsors the team. We pay a small fee to Parks and Rec to participate in the league, and we also provide jerseys to all of the players, which is good advertising. The shop’s name is on all the league emails and schedules, and a lot of us wear our jerseys when we aren’t playing. We probably don’t get a lot of business from the kickball advertising, but having our logo on someone’s back certainly doesn’t hurt.

Barnes MetalCrafters’ owner Tim Martin, my dad, comes to nearly every game and often can be seen in the dugout keeping score when we play at home. He is accompanied by my mom, Diana Martin, who is the shop’s vice president. Most people do not know that is her title. Why not make an appearance and cheer on the team you sponsor? Light-heartedly we call my dad George Steinbrenner, the man behind the team who makes the calls on who stays or who goes. It’s not really like that, but it probably looks that way to some of our opponents. For the earlier games, my wife Courtney brings our daughters Lillian and Reese out for the fun. It pretty much is a family-friendly environment, so Wednesdays are always a day to look forward to.

Our team is fun to hang out with as well—all smiles and high-fives from this bunch. We’ve figured out that the key to winning is to have more fun than the other team. Besides, winning has been another specialty of ours. We have won the league tournament several times over the last few years and we have a wall of trophy plaques to prove it. Go Barnes Kickball!

After having fun at the ballpark, we go to our “clubhouse,” a local tap bar called Brutopia that is right around the corner from the field. We go there for postgame shenanigans and a couple of beers. Other teams show up; we acknowledge them and let them join in on the fun.

We often tell people that we go there to watch film and develop strategy for the coming weeks. If you want to think it’s true, that’s all right with me. You gotta stay ahead of the curve in kickball.

I’m sure most of you reading this can relate. Everyone needs an excuse to get out in the fresh air and have some fun. Why not put your company name on the fun? When you work hard, you can play hard. Participating in sports, especially adult league kickball, is an easy way to relieve the stress of your routine. I’m not LeVar Burton, but you can take my word for it.

All images courtesy of Nick Martin, Barnes MetalCrafters.

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