They say practice makes perfect, and then they correct themselves by saying perfect practice makes perfect. I wonder what not practicing at all makes… awful, mediocre?

            Well hopefully not, because Thursday, May 15 marked the inaugural showing of my adult softball team at Big League Dreams.

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Applebees, the Big Apples, as we call ourselves, made our debut on the world of lob-ball.

            A few of us know what we are doing, a few are natural athletes who should adjust well to the sport, and a few simply have nothing better to do on a Thursday night.

            But our lack of practice and experience in the sport doesn’t mean the Big Apples won’t be coming legit, because this roster isn’t made of slouches.

            Most of the talent comes with a diploma from Ripon High, with my cousins Matt and Nate Dodson, Marcus Reyna and Cole Williams a few of the key players on a 2006 Indians baseball team that made a dent in the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason for varsity baseball.

            Zack Lopez is a self-proclaimed fantastic athlete, and though he only finished basketball at the varsity level, he was rumored to be lights-out on both the baseball and football field.

            Our leadoff, Ray Cuadros, is the lone non-Ripon High alumnus, though his ping-pong prowess is known far and wide, with a devastating back-hand and wicked serve that is sure to translate onto the softball field.

            The rest of our lineup is littered with athletes of some kind, and includes golf prodigy Kyle Huckle, soccer phenom David Haigwood, pickup football star Matt Seibert (who is also rumored to have scored 40-plus points in a JV basketball game), speedy football standout Ryan Castillo, three-point tossing Jonathan Merchant (think back to when Ripon was up by 17 with three minutes to play), and heavy football hitters Jeremey Costa and Jack Darcy.

            The Manteca Bulletin once called me a Ripon wrestling legend, so I guess that would make this roster a regular congregation of the who’s-who in Ripon sports, and the talented cast is certain to do some damage against the best hackers and fly ball catchers of the Central Valley.

            Three of us went down to BLD to sign-up for the league and test out the turf on Monday, which might technically count as that practice we have needed.

            As long as it doesn’t require any long-distance running, this band of out-of-action athletes should do just fine.