Williamsburg Senior Softball League prepares for its biggest season yet

It’s a Thursday morning, and the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex is teeming with activity. As young kids run around with soccer balls and footballs on the indoor soccer field, another group waits on the sideline for its turn to play.

Around 20 members of the Williamsburg Senior Softball League have shown up for a weekday morning training session, an essential part of preparing for their upcoming season.

The Williamsburg Senior Softball League, which formed in 2019, provides “a senior-friendly softball experience that is fun and competitive while emphasizing safety and encouraging camaraderie,” its website reads. The league operates as a nonprofit organization in partnership with the James City County and Williamsburg parks and recreation departments.

“If people think they’re past the point in their lives (of being able to play competitive recreational sports), they may not be,” league commissioner John Stout said.

Billy Wagner, who plays as well as umpires games, first joined the league in 2019. He played softball as a kid, and after watching a couple of the games at the end of the league’s first season, he decided to sign up. When he joined, Wagner, who lives in Williamsburg, didn’t know any of his fellow players. Now a few seasons in, the best part has been the camaraderie, he said.

Billy Moore, who also plays in the league, agreed.

“The sportsmanship is a step above,” Moore said. “And it’s still competitive.”

Both Moore and Wagner are eager to see the league continue to grow.

“If everyone could bring one new person in, there would be tremendous growth,” said Moore, who lives in Gloucester. “We’re all friends, and we want to maintain the level of sportsmanship.”

For Stout, “the key is for people to come out and have a good time.”

Currently, the league includes players from ages 50 to 80, who bring various levels of skill and experience. While many of the players are retirees, some, including Stout, still work, which means that the league needs to stay flexible in allowing players to skip some games. It’s not uncommon for players to miss time due to injury, vacation or even just because they have something else to do.

Like Wagner, several players also spend time behind the plate or keeping score or coaching from the dugout.

“We try to get people to commit to 75% of the games,” Stout said.

With opening day of the regular season slated for April 4, there are still several weeks of batting practice and scrimmaging, as well as a weeklong rookie camp in March. The games, which are held Tuesday and Thursday mornings, are played from April to October, with a lengthy break in the middle to avoid the worst of the summer heat.

Originally, the league came together in early 2019, thanks to a group of people that was intent on playing some softball. The group included William & Mary graduate Jim Ratkus.

While living in Wilmington, North Carolina, Ratkus began playing senior softball. After moving back to Williamsburg in 2018, he looked for a similar recreational league. When he didn’t find one, he decided to create it.

Within a few months, the league was ready to go, with Ratkus, the inaugural Williamsburg Senior Softball League commissioner, at the helm.

In January 2019, Ratkus put out feelers to start bolstering the league’s ranks. They needed a board, with people to serve in roles such as vice commissioner and treasurer, as well as someone who could put together an official website.

Within a few months, they “pushed this thing off a cliff and it flew,” Ratkus said.

In its first season, the league had about 35 people, making up three teams. By that fall, there were enough players to fill four rosters.

Now, there are about 100 players who have already signed up for the upcoming season, and the league’s leadership is hopeful that they’ll continue to add to their ranks.

This season, the plan is to compete in two divisions, with the number of teams in each division decided by how many players end up coming out. Additionally, the league has its own draft as well as its own annual All-Star Game, for which players are selected through a league-wide vote.

“It’s still evolving,” Ratkus said. “We don’t know where we’re going to end up.”

For more information, visit www.wsslva.org.

Sian Wilkerson, sian.wilkerson@pilotonline.com, 757-342-6616