![]() ![]() We even trash talk and stretch the rules a little bit. Schultz, a 1968 Connetquot graduate, said: ‘We keep coming back every year, so it must be good. And then there’s the laughs and the camaraderie. I get my running in and we get plenty of exercise. “I just enjoy the whole experience,” he said. Schultz, a slick-fielding shortstop, is one of the fastest runners indoors. He plays for The Streaks, the nine-time outdoor summer league champion of the Brookhaven A League. Ken Schultz, a 72-year-old retired social studies teacher from Oakdale, joined the league to prepare for the outdoor season. A fine group of competitive senior gentlemen who get together to share the love of the game.” It reminds us of all that once was good and could be again.’ Well, this quote sums up our indoor purpose. “Terrence Mann, the author, played by James Earl Jones, says to Kevin Costner, who plays the main character Ray, ‘the one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. “One of my favorite movies is ‘Field of Dreams’,” Coppola said. A lifetime fan of the Yankees and Mantle, Coppola loves to tell stories during the games about The Mick. The reigning single-season home run champion hit 12 dingers in the league’s inaugural winter season of 2012. I basically got a second lease on life.”Ĭoppola usually is found playing in his Mickey Mantle Yankees home pinstripe jersey. I completely recovered and slowly came back to play for a team managed by the well-known George Martin and enjoying myself again. “I didn’t know if I’d ever play again before the surgery,” Coppola said. And you would never know it watching how the indoor all-time home run leader plays the game. James on Monday.Ĭoppola had successful sextuple open-heart surgery in 2015. Nothing stops these guys from playing.”Īl Coppola of Medford bats during a senior softball league game at The Sports Arena in St. “We’ve had guys come back from heart attacks and all kinds of cancer survivors. “Collectively we’ve had every conceivable surgery known to man,” Al Coppola, 74, a retired Earth Science teacher in Deer Park who lives in Medford, said with a laugh. Indoor softball is played in an indoor lacrosse arena with artificial turf - that’s “artificial,” like the replacement hips, shoulders and knees many of the players have. The senior winter indoor league is proof positive that these guys are serious all year. Players pay $9 for a three-hour indoor session of softball and entertainment, which can come in many forms: botched defensive plays, bad baserunning, swings and misses, good-natured heckling from the bench and nicknames for all the players. And although it’s competitive, it’s more for fun and exercise and enjoying being with the guys. “The competition level is different in all leagues,” Davide said. There currently are 48 teams of players 60 and over who play in the summer on Long Island. There is no shortage of seniors over 60 playing softball. We’ve become the best of friends.”ĭavide recently was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame by the American Softball Association in Oklahoma City. “And then we played together for 18 years. ![]() “We played on opposing teams in national tournaments for a long time,” said Davide, 75, who coached baseball at Dowling College as well as high school baseball for a total of 35 years. Through competition in the league, the two have formed a special bond. James on Monday.įor more than a decade, Hannan and Davide have shared this routine from early December to late March. Members of the senior softball league pose for a group photo at The Sports Arena in St. “It’s part of the charm of the who’s who of indoor softball.” “You never know who’s going to be there,” Hannan said. They meet up with 32 to 40 other men who have the same passion for three hours of indoor senior softball. When the ferry docks, Hannan meets his close friend, John Davide of Centereach, who then drives 30 minutes to batting practice at the Smithtown Sports Arena. We’re not getting any younger, but it’s incredible what we’re doing at our age. “The two greatest days of every week are the ones that I step onto the field with all my friends,” the retired Hannan said. ![]()
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