Though it may not be obvious at first, there’s a friendly rivalry between two of Plant City’s recreation centers — Planteen and Martin Luther King Jr. And every year, boys and girls from the two rec centers come together to see which one is the best — at kickball.
It’s a fairly young series, having started in 2012, but an entertaining one. All of the kids couldn’t be more excited for the 2014 contest, held July 11, to try to lock up 365 days of bragging rights for their rec center.
That also means a member of the losing team — either Jason Hargrove, of Planteen, or Lillie Brown, of MLK — will be pied in the face at the end. A reward that’s almost as sweet as the win itself, no doubt.
Perhaps one of the most fun things about this series will be rooting for one of these teams. The differences between them are stark, which makes it a fun competition to watch.
PLANTEEN CENTER
Although the series is currently locked in a 1-1 tie, the Planteen Center can always claim that it won the first game. Coached by Shawn Lake, that team grinded its way to a 1-0 victory.
“We didn’t commit any errors,” Lake says.
In 2013, though, it was a different story: Lake and the Planteen team lost by one run, but that game was an 11-10 shootout.
“Last year, we had one inning where we allowed five or six runs,” Lake says. “That ended up costing us. But if we don’t allow any errors, and we do our job, we will win. I’m confident in our abilities.”
Though there are only two boys on the team with prior experience, one from each game, the Planteen crew is quiet, but very much driven to make up for that game, even that shaky inning.
“Hopefully, the team will be able to play harder and be able to give 100%,” returning second baseman Jonathan Vaughan says.
The kids have been practicing together for a few weeks now, building chemistry, and getting in the right frame of mind. All of the kids who were willing to talk spoke of giving it “100%.”
The Walden Lake Elementary School kickball tournament is a big inspiration for kids from both teams, though it appears to have brought more new players to Planteen’s side than MLK’s.
“That made me think that, when they do kickball here, I wanted to play here,” Jared Dudzinski says. “They brought up the kickball game with MLK, and I decided I wanted to play. I’m really good at kickball, at my school.”
While no one was willing to make a prediction, maybe at risk of jinxing the outcome, it’s clear that these kids are itching to suit up and take the field. Though everyone’s main goal is to go out there and have fun, winning would be really nice. Especially for Hargrove, who would take one of those pies to the face in a loss.
“Sometimes, with those whipped cream pies, they leave them out in the sun all day, during the game,” Hargrove says. “When you’ve got a pie that’s been out in the sun all day, and they put it in your face, it does not smell good.”
MLK CENTER
Now, if the Planteen team is like the St. Louis Cardinals — quiet and unassuming, yet driven — then the MLK kids are like the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Loud, energetic and talented, this team, made up almost entirely of returning players, has no problem telling you how good the sum of its parts are.
“We’ve got to show Plant City who’s the boss,” Jordan Broadnax says.
Coming off of that stressful 2013 win, coach Javae Ingram and his team hope to really make a splash this year in front of the home crowd at the MLK Center’s baseball field.
“It was a very close game,” Ingram says. “Right at the end, they came back at us, but we held them off. Excellent defense, a couple of great catches at the end sealed it for us.”
Ingram, and the rest of his players, stressed solid all-around team play as the key to winning next week.
“I’m ready,” Broadnax says. “My team is ready. As long as we work as a team, we’re going to do really great. Every time they scored a point, somebody would get mad at somebody else. But, this year, that’s not going to happen.”
In fact, this team is so confident in its speed, power and hands taking it to victory that the boys and girls have already planned the post-game celebration.
“If we win,” Christian Bisono says, “well, here’s what’s going to happen: right now, we have a little dance party that goes on every Friday. So, what we’re going to do is, most likely, Miss Lillie goes crazy if we win. Like last year. We all went crazy, we had a good time partying. We all just dance; it’s our thing.”
“We’re going to turn up,” Broadnax adds.
TIPS AND TRICKS
They say that baseball is a thinking man’s game. Kickball, though suited for younger kids and adults with a passion for beer league sports, isn’t too different. And, the beauty of it is that anyone can step right in and play. So, how do you make the most of your time on the field?
• If you’re waiting on your turn to kick, pay attention to the defense. How far and fast can they throw? Can they catch a fly ball? These are things you need to know before you place your kick.
• If the bases are empty, kick to your left. This gives you much more time to run to first base. Kicking to your right is almost only a good idea when you have a runner on third, because he has a better chance to score — even if you’re the second out.
• Don’t play defense too close to the ball — stand a little farther back than where you’d expect it to land. You’ll want to be in front of the ball when it bounces, not behind it.
• Are you holding the ball on defense? If you’re not the pitcher, get rid of it! Runners can advance as long as the pitcher doesn’t have it.
