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WAKA Social Sports An Opportunity To Be Active, Meet New People

NEWINGTON — Lindsay Reiff charges home plate and kicks the red kickball, running as fast as she can to first base while her teammates cheer her on “...
kickball

With the base just a few steps away, the first baseman catches the ball, “Out!”

But it’s all in good fun, Reiff, an Iowa transplant now living in Plainville, is part of the World Adult Kickball Association, a social sports league with teams sprinkled across Connecticut.

“I joined the league because I was relatively new to the area and I wanted to meet people and it’s been a great experience. I played in the downtown league and this league here in Newington.”

In their team uniform t-shirts, green and blue faced off in a six-inning kickball battle of the undefeated teams , young adults from the area trading their dress shoes for sneakers for this after work game.

The World Adult Kickball Association, WAKA, is a national program that started in 1998 and is now in 37 states, including Connecticut since 2008. With leagues in Hartford, Newington, New Haven and Naugatuck, Senior Community Coordinator Chad Martin says the Connecticut league has gone from 850 active players to over 2,000 in just the last year.

“One of the knocks of Hartford is it’s between Boston and New York, young people don’t have a lot to do. This is a great way to meet young people, be active and do something fun after work,” Martin said.

Though WAKA is a social league and is more about having a good time and meeting people, Martin jokes that just like any other sport, it can get competitive. Each game is recorded, each season has playoffs and the winning team takes home a trophy.

WAKA isn’t limited to just kickball. The association also offers dodgeball and flag football here in Connecticut. You can sign up for the league as a full team, a partial team or a free agent.

To learn more about WAKA, visit their website. 

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