Thanks to the efforts of Mike Fontana, St. Isidore formed a men’s softball this summer and joined other local churches in a recreational league. The other church teams included Immanuel Lutheran, St. Peter’s in Eastpoint, St. Thomas in Eastpoint, Trinity Lutheran in Utica, and Trinity in Clinton Township who have all been in this league for years.
As a brand new team, we knew it would be an uphill battle finding consistency in our playing. We ended up with a really strong group of guys (of all ages) for the team and while it was indeed a rocky start to the season, the team consistently improved. The team remained winless until the last several weeks of the season when we began to hit our stride, became more competitive, and won a few games.
In addition to becoming more competitive in games, the team really formed a strong fraternal bond. Each week at least 14 guys came ready to compete and were good about switching in and out to allow everyone a chance to play. The guys were led by parishioner and manager, Vito Zuccaro, who provided strong leadership for the nascent team. In speaking with an opposing team’s coach after one of the last games, he complimented Vito on how much our team had improved and how happy they were that we became a part of the league.
We hope to continue building up the team in 2020 and have enough guys to form two teams. Many of the other churches have two teams as well. Stay tuned in the spring for details about next year’s softball league.
– Matt Kush
