Work Hard, Play Harder

On my first day at Adpearance I started with a large number of emails in my inbox, but one that immediately caught my eye was a coworker asking who wanted to play kickball. I was brand new to the company and hardly knew anyone, but I knew I wanted to be part of this team. It was my first glimpse into knowing I had definitely made the right decision in working for this organization.

As the season continued, the Nerdherd played kickball every Tuesday night at Peninsula Park through the Underdog Sports League. On night one, about 15 of us showed up to play in our first kickball game of the season. Before we began, a few people on the team, who had played on a rec league before, explained the rules to the rest of us. I think it is safe to say that at least half of us gave a look of confusion as we all though, “Wait, there are more rules than just kicking the ball and running around the bases?”

Yep, there is indeed more to kickball. Some of the rules are as simple as kick the ball, run to first base, and then just keep running the bases until you get home. But there are also more detailed rules in the league to keep things interesting:

• Only females can kick the ball…because no one wants to see a “man-bunt.”
• There are only 2 strikes required for an out. Every foul ball also counts as a strike.
• You must wait until the ball crosses home plate before you can kick it.
• Players need to tag up before running to the next base. If you do not do so and run to the next base when the fly ball is caught, you are out.
• There are three additional ways to get outs:
  • Catching a fly ball
  • Forcing an out at the base
  • Hitting the runner with the ball BELOW the neck

Although we struggled with the rules during the first game (and maybe a few after that), our team was better and better by the week. We may not have ended the season with the best record in the league, but around the Adpearance office it is well known that we were definitely most improved!

Although our kickball season is over, we plan on finding more sports to play and teams to join, so if you're ever bored and want to see the Nerdherd in action, come check us out!