On a spring evening at Onondaga Lake Park, a group of friends are on one of the softball fields. David Evans rolls the pitch, and he and his friends are enjoying a recess game as adults.
“The best part about it is all you need is a ball, some friends, and to spread some laughter, love,” said Evans, the founder of Cuse Kickball.
The Cuse Kickball league runs eight weeks this spring. The summer season begins the week of June 21, and sign-ups are open now.
Kickball is a way for Evans, his friends, and the community to forget about the pandemic for a few minutes.
"A lot of friends and family around me were suffering from anxiety and depression, including myself, so I wanted to put something together for the community and my friends and family as an outlet," said Evans.
Evans reignited his love of kickball last year.
“2020 for me personally was the worst year of my life,” he said.
It was rehab for his mind and body. After the pandemic hit in the spring, he broke his leg.
"So after the first lock down I was on a second lock down and I went into a deep state of depression," said Evan. "And that’s really another reason that kind of got my gears going about what I can do to help people with anxiety and depression.”
The game helped him kick his blues away.