Every April, an intense and competitive
subculture explodes throughout the United States with the seasonal
opening of men’s slow pitch softball. Tens of thousands of registered
teams begin their leagues in aljost every city and town across America.
For many of these players, the season means recreational sport,
camaraderie, beer and entertainment.
For a select few,
however, the word "recreational" does not apply to their brand of
softball. With their eyes set on the September Worlds Tournament some
players are engaged in a personal quest for greater validation and the
Ultimate Victory. Just as 44 Core represents the designated density of
softballs to be used in regulation and tournament play, these players
are the core substance in a multi-million dollar industry that is
uniquely American.
We meet the team players who play
nightly, then travel every weekend for out-of-state tournaments. We see
how their personal lives become a precarious balancing act of their day
jobs, family obligations and on-the-road escapism. We watch as some
teams struggle to scrape together a few hundred dollars and matching
shirts to go up against teams with thousand dollar budgets, $300 bats
and an array of perfectly coordinated uniforms.
Like
the characters in "Hoop Dreams" and "Friday Night Lights", the players
we meet confound, amaze and even inspire. With many of teams playing
just for the game, perseverance and obsession mark the efforts of these
players……...as they search for something universal in all of our lives:
Greatness. For these men, this is their one way of chasing this, for
others…it’s just a game.