By Shellie Miller
Parkland is an amazing place to raise a family, surround yourself with like-minded friends, and enjoy our fabulous South Florida lifestyle. Always geared toward activities that include the entire family, it’s easy to find a league for children to learn team skills and dedicate their extra time to a favorite activity. Thankfully, Parkland Parks and Recreation re-created a softball league for adults that has players crowing about the fun!
“My husband and I are thrilled to be part of Parkland’s Adult Co-Ed Softball league and a fantastic team,” says Sherri Sada Sklar. “It’s been a great way to enjoy time together, have fun with friends, and meet new people in the community while being active and enjoying good sportsmanship with other teams.” She continues, “ It has brought life back into the field for a lot of us that truly enjoy the sport!”
Active for a few years now, the latest Parkland softball league has become a big hit in the community. My family was involved in Parkland Softball back in the early 90s, and it’s so refreshing to see it making a popular comeback!
Parkland’s mayor, Rich Walker, is also pumped about the league. “Our Co-Ed softball league has had a great start. This gives adults within our community another opportunity to bond. Having children fill the stands watching their parents play is a tremendous sight to see. I’m looking forward to watching the program grow.”
“Going into the first season, I was on a team with players I had never played softball with, let alone never met,” said Jessica Isrow. “But we became an amazing team and better yet, friends. We surprise each other every Sunday with how well we play, motivate each other and just have fun. Our Parkland softball league is filled with a great community and I am so happy I was able to experience our first co-Ed softball year!”
Parkland, parks and recreation coordinator, Nick Williams says, “Our adult softball league, in its fifth season, and has been a great avenue for Parkland adults to get out, exercise, socialize, and enjoy friendly competition in our community. There are also adult leagues for kickball and basketball.
Parkland resident Leo Gordon is really enjoying their Sunday games. He tells us, “I enjoy playing adult softball, because it allows me to stay active, challenge, myself, and build meaningful connections with fellow players in a fun and competitive environment.“
Before implementing the league in 2018, the City of Parkland put together their parks and recreation master plan, and sent out a survey. The responses showed that people wanted more adult leagues like basketball and softball. Since there was already some adult pick up basketball going on, the parks and recreation team started a softball league! More than 70 people responded, wanting to be part of the fun. Two teams came in already complete, and the people who had signed up were all placed into four teams, making it a total of 6 teams when the league began. Growing exponentially in the last five years, the softball league is in great shape, and the players , now 11 teams, are having a fabulous season! Parkland is committed to keeping its families busy! With many adult sports available, the city is also excited to be building more Pickleball courts, which is a fast growing sport throughout the US.
For more information please see cityofparkland.org
