Adult kickball coming to Bryant Parks and Recreation

Bryant Parks and Recreation is forming a new adult kickball league with games scheduled to begin in June. Keith Cox, a member of the Bryant Parks and Rec team, pitches to a kicker during a practice at Bishop Park in Bryant.
Bryant Parks and Recreation is forming a new adult kickball league with games scheduled to begin in June. Keith Cox, a member of the Bryant Parks and Rec team, pitches to a kicker during a practice at Bishop Park in Bryant.

For the first time, the Bryant Parks and Recreation Department will host an adult kickball league this summer.

League games, which will take place Monday nights from June 5 to Aug. 7, will feature teams of 10. The season will finish up with a single-elimination playoff.

“We are trying to go with some new programming,” said Chet Dycus, athletic and program coordinator for the department. “We offer basketball and volleyball, but we were trying to find a more recreational-style activity with a relaxed atmosphere.

“We came across this, and it was something we were interested in starting up.”

On Monday, a captain’s meeting will take place at Dave and Buster’s in Little Rock. Dycus said league organizers will use that time to go over the rules, and teams have until then to sign up.

“We have two or three teams already signed up, thanks to all the interest,” he said.

Teams can sign up online at www.cityofbryant.com/enroll or can visit The Center at Bishop Park, 6401 Boone Road in Bryant. Registration costs $250 per team, and each team can have up to 20 players.

Each team has to have at least 10 people and at least five females. Players have to be at least 18 years old.

“We are trying to encourage everybody to be involved, and everybody gets a chance to participate,” Dycus said.

He said if there is enough interest, the department is definitely open to hosting a kids league.

“Anything we can do to get people out to participate and exercise,” Dycus said.

Right now, Dycus said, the parks department is also redoing its disc-golf course and plans to introduce co-ed softball toward the end of the year.

The kickball games will be played at Bishop Park or at Alcoa Fields, Dycus said.

“Part of that depends on the recent flooding,” he said.

Anyone who is unable to find a team can contact Parks and Rec, which will make an effort to place players on a team.

“We want to get everybody involved,” Dycus said. “If we have enough free agents, then we will put them on their own team.

“Once we have our captain’s meeting, those who are wanting to play who haven’t been able to find a team will be available for those captains to choose from, if they need them.”

Jeremy Jones, assistant general manager at Dave and Buster’s, is one of the team captains. He said he will use the league as a team-building exercise.

“We just want to get our employees involved in the community, and it is an opportunity to team-build,” Jones said.

Jones, who lives in Bryant, said he had an impromptu game back in November and tried to do a few more, but bad weather prevented further games.

“We reached out to Bryant Parks and Rec, and they said they were in the process of starting a league, so we wanted to partner up with them,” Jones said. “So we are sponsoring the captain’s meeting, and we [will give] the winning team a little party here at Dave and Buster’s.”

Jones said that when they played in November, they had a great time.

“The guys that missed it were upset about it,” he said, “so we just want to get out there and have some fun.”

Jones said he played in a charity tournament when he lived in Colorado, but that was when he was in his early 30s.

“I don’t think anybody is going pro,” he said, “but we’ve got a couple soccer players, so we’ve got a big boot there.

“They are all pretty excited and ready to play.”

Jones said he has six who have signed up to play on his team so far.

“We are trying to gear [the league] toward places of work to encourage some team bonding,” Dycus said. “The biggest thing we want is for people to come out and enjoy themselves and play a game they did when they were in school.”

For more information, contact Dycus at cdycus@cityofbryant.com or (501) 943-0426.

Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.

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