In an over-30 league of their own
Age-unlimited softball programs are catching on among women who miss playing the game
In the spring of 2007, Maura Watts and Stephanie Petrow of Methuen were watching their daughters’ final softball game of the season, chatting about how much they missed playing. As the innings wore on, the idea for a local women’s over-30 league began to take shape.
“We walked through the crowd and collected names of 40 other moms who were interested in playing,’’ says Petrow, 38. “Maura borrowed the microphone to make an announcement.’’
One month later, the Better Late Than Never softball league was born. By August, the season was underway with four teams competing in weekly games at the Methuen YMCA field.
Since then, the league’s popularity has grown. By the 2008 season, participation had doubled, to eight teams. This year, there are 10.
“We really didn’t expect it to grow this fast,’’ says Watts. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised.’’
Players’ ages range from 30 to 60-plus, each bringing varying degrees of experience to the field. Frankie Meservey, 46, grew up with five brothers and says she “came out playing.’’ Starting in Little League, she played all the way to an adult fast-pitch league when her kids were young. Now, she says, she enjoys watching the newer players improve.
“We had one woman start the season putting her glove on the wrong hand,’’ says the mother of three. “By the end, she was hitting line drives.’’
The women in the league handle all tasks, from paying field and umpire fees to lining up hot-dog vendors and cleaning up the trash. Thankfully, it is a family affair.
“My husband has always been supportive,’’ says Watts, 48, a mother of one. “He takes care of the field for us, lines the bases; he puts a lot into it.’’
Petrow says the kids are always eager to help out, too.
“When newer players arrive with younger kids, the older ones automatically watch over them without being asked,’’ says the mother of two, adding that the teenagers also coach from the sidelines.
“They repeat the things we’ve been yelling to them for years,’’ she says. “They’ll say ‘Elbow up!’ or ‘Level swing!’ We’re all like, ‘Wow, you were listening?’ ’’
For the players, softball season brings a renewed sense of freedom.
“We are over a hundred women with the same worries, problems, and busy kids,’’ says Watts. “But we all come together for one reason — to have fun.’’
“It’s my outlet,’’ says Meservey. “My family knows that starting in August, it’s about us. The schedule is on the fridge, and the house will be a mess from now until the end of the season.’’
In Groveland, Christine Sullivan Higgins and Jennifer Miller-True formed another women’s softball league just last year. The Dirt the Skirt league began when Sullivan Higgins, 37, grew frustrated with the thirty-plus coed leagues, which limited the number of women per team. She spent two years formulating her idea, bringing Miller-True on board to help manage the effort. In the spring of 2009, they launched the league. The response was immediate.
“We had 66 women preregister for our first assessment day, and 95 showed up,’’ says Sullivan Higgins, a mother of one child with another on the way. “We ended up with 103 women on seven teams.’’
This year, that number grew to 110 women on eight teams. Games are played on weekends at the Pines recreation area in Groveland.
Miller-True says the success of the league hinges on its family-friendly atmosphere and the enjoyment it offers the women on and off the field.
“It’s not just about softball,’’ says the 33-year-old stepmother of two. “It’s about getting together with women you have something in common with, about making time for yourself and making friends.’’
Joselyn Bengtson has already made fast friends during her first season in the league. A 51-year-old mother of four with two grandchildren, she shocked her family by signing up.
“My kids thought it was funny, just as I thought it was funny,’’ she says. “They said, ‘You?!’ ’’
“This is a woman I haven’t seen play a sport in 30 years,’’ says her husband, Keith, who coaches her team. “I am absolutely thrilled and excited to root her on.’’
Bengtson’s teammate, Deb Matos, is at the other end of the spectrum, having played in high school, college intramurals, and another recreational league prior to this one. She says softball offers a perfect release for women.
“We’re all so busy running around with our kids,’’ says the mother of three. “This is my me time, my little outlet.’’
For the women of both leagues, this year’s season promises to be another filled with laughs, pulled muscles, friendships, and lots of ibuprofen. They are proof that even after 30, girls really do just want to have fun.
