Adults are getting a kick out of kickball

Panting to catch his breath, the captain rotated to reveal a scrape on his thigh the size of a bratwurst.

"The blood came after my second slide," Brad Yarbrough said between gasps.

Yarbrough leads a squad of weeknight warriors in a sport that is selling out rec leagues and dominating field reservations year-round in the city and across the globe: adult kickball.

Kickball plays like softball's demented little brother. The pitcher rolls a large, bouncy ball toward a kicker, rather than a batter. When the ball is kicked into play, fielders may use it to bean baserunners to get an out. Bunting is strictly prohibited.

The rules do not require baserunners to slide, but the competitive Yarbrough did it anyway - three times.

"I had to be safe," he explained.

Many play the sport rather laxly. It is more a social gathering than an athletic contest, often just a beer league that is an homage to the days of recess and gym class, players say.

But most teams have their own version of a guy like Yarbrough. Or, as he is quick to point out: "That's Coach Yarbrough."

Yarbrough took a game last week extra seriously: His undefeated team was in its league semifinals.

Yarbrough was dressed in his team's powder-blue T-shirt, which features the silhouette of a provocatively posed woman booting a kickball. His raiment also included a pair of white sneakers (stained brown from the field's diamond dust), sweat-soaked gym shorts, and a pair of Underarmor gloves, for grip.

Considering that a player once competed in a hot dog costume, the gloves did not turn many heads. It is the games themselves that are the draw.

"We were shocked with the success of kickball," said Jason Cooper, codirector of Philadelphia Sports Network, a recreational sports group. "It's one of our most popular sports now."

Recreational leagues have kickball seasons year-round, charging about $50 per player per season. Depending on the league, teams register about 20 players each, with up to 36 teams playing in a given season.

Many leagues find themselves filled to capacity, with not enough fields in the city to support more games, Cooper said.

Philadelphia's fields help breed a culture of kickball. Designed for Little League games, they are often too small for adult softball.

Offices and groups of friends sometimes field teams of their own, but much of kickball's new popularity is due to individual players looking to make new friends. Nearly half the kickball players in Cooper's league are solo registrants.

With recent graduates on the move to land any job they can get, many are finding themselves in new towns with few friends, Cooper said.

Ray Smith, chief executive officer of the World Adult Kickball Association, said the game's ease encourages socializing more than other sports.

"It's like real-life social networking," he said.

Yarbrough, for example, formed his team by recruiting strangers in his Manayunk apartment complex.

One of those strangers was Jodi Robillard, whom Yarbrough recruited while fixing her television. She is not a kickball fanatic - yet - but enjoys the social aspect.

"You make a lot of new friends," she said. "And you get free beer after."

Because it's illegal to drink alcohol in Philadelphia parks - where almost all leagues hold their games - in-game consumption is subtle at the most.

Theresa Sharkey, 25, who runs the Manayunk Sport and Social Club, finds herself playing enforcer at times.

"I'm sure there's a player here or there who gets loaded first, plays kickball, and then goes back out to the bar," she said. "But it doesn't happen too often."

Postgame celebrations, however, are not so dry. Sharkey's league is sponsored by a local bar, which gives a free drink to each player after each contest.

"With all the free drinks, it pays for itself," said player and Roxborough native Eileen Falchetta. "There are a lot of guys. It's like a singles thing, but without the pressure of online dating."

WAKA's Smith, who figures the United States has about 100,000 adult kickballers, sees the sport spark love all the time.

"It's monthly that we get wedding pictures with groom cakes in the shape of a kickball," he said. "We've had weddings where people were dressed in their kickball uniforms."

During the games, however, there is plenty to think about besides one's love life.

Norman Gray, 51, a Comcast sales supervisor by day and referee by night, has mastered kickball's quirky rules and even added a few of his own.

"If it hits a car, it's a double," he said, muffled by his midgame cigar.

And, he said, "when a team's getting blown out, I'll give them calls. It could be foul by two feet. I don't care, fair ball! I don't even hesitate."

Gray also did not hesitate to ignore Yarbrough's leg wound.

"Safety is our main concern here at the Manyunk Sports and Social Club," he said, grinning.

Despite Yarbrough's best efforts - and the referee's attempts to level the playing field - his team did not advance to the championship. That honor was reserved for a group of recent Villanova University graduates and a team of medical students, which took home the trophy.

The losers left in mixed spirits.

"Good game, guys. See you at the bar," said a member of the vanquished team. "Rest up these next couple of weeks - we'll get them in the summer."