Diamonds prevent aging for area players
By Jason S. Rufner
The silver-topped shortstop bends, fields and straightens, zipping the oversize yellow ball to first base, snapping the receiver's mitt.A moment later, the man who hit the ball huffs and pounds through the bag.
"Pretty good for a guy who's 106," he said jokingly at a scrimmage March 13.
The guy who's 106 is 74-year-old Julian Levine, of Fairfax, a 10-year veteran and former president of Northern Virginia Senior Softball, an organization gearing up for its 29th season with the final sessions of its winter program at Dulles Sportsplex in Sterling.
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings between April 15 and the first week of August, about 500 seniors on about 30 squads will see 60 regular-season games and a double-elimination playoff. A fall season provides 30 more games in September and October, followed by the winter program from November to March.
Three skill-based divisions are set up, and rosters are selected each year by committee to ensure competitive balance.
This is not a beer league.
"Everyone wants to win, no question," said Joyce Pfeffer, of Springfield, a player since 1994 and the successor to Levine as president. "That's why we're out there -- that and to have a good time."
"Oh, she's a killer!" interrupts a gentleman to Pfeffer's left, good-naturedly kidding his teammate and president. The bench explodes in laughter.
Pfeffer's sentiments are echoed by many of the participants at the Thursday-morning scrimmage.
"Yes, we're all competitive," exclaimed John Brown, of Leesburg, a player since 1997, who at age 72 reports that he rarely misses a game. "Definitely out there to win. We have a good time, but we're out there to win."
Carl Watkins, of Sterling, said, "The games are extremely competitive." Watkins is a business owner about to reach 60 who had not played softball before joining NVSS three years ago. "Everyone plays real hard, everyone plays to win, but there's a sense of camaraderie also."
The camaraderie is evident as the players, who average about 65 years of age, jibe and hoot at each other inside the cavernous arena at the Sportsplex. Fist-bumps are shared after good plays, friendly ribbing after errors.
"I'm just really proud to be a part of these guys," Watkins said.
Stretching and throwing commence at 9 a.m., followed by a brief session of batting practice. The first of two seven-inning contests begins at 9:30, the second finishing around 12:30. Each player is issued a T-shirt with his or her name emblazoned across the back, dyed to correspond to a team color.
"It's a different mix every year," Brown said, "and that's what makes it nice. You get to meet and play with more people."
According to Levine, these ballplayers are former plumbers, electricians, college professors, even World War II combat veterans.
"It means you have to be nice to everybody, since you might be playing with them next year," said Dave Scheele, laughing. Scheele is a 24-year player from Arlington. "So you don't want to beat up on them too much this year."
The summer season is played outdoors, on fields around Fairfax County. The winter program will again be held at the Dulles Sportsplex starting next November.
Most of NVSS's players are from Fairfax County; about 10 percent hail from Loudoun. Some travel from as far away as Fredericksburg to participate. The minimum age requirement is 50 for men and 40 for women.
Charlie Green, of Sterling, had not played softball in 25 years before 1995, when he joined NVSS. In addition to the exercise and fun, Green cited the fellowship he feels by playing with those of his own age.
"I'm friends with every one of them. There's not an enemy in the bunch," Green said. "If I didn't have this, I don't know what I'd be doing."
The organization, whose motto is “You don't stop playing because you grow old; you grow old because you stop playing,” has its Web site at www.nvss.org.