BREWER – Brewer Parks and Recreation Department’s Adult Co-ed Softball League is in full swing for another season.

Mike Martin of Bradley, recreation supervisor for Brewer Parks and Recreation Department, played the first two years when the league was formed in 1992.

“We’d struggle to get our seven teams,” Martin said of the league’s beginning. But that has changed.

“We have 14 teams, which we divide into two divisions,” he said.

There is even a waiting list, with four or five people waiting to participate each year. About 225 people, including backup players, now play in the league.

“People will line up at 6 a.m. for a chance to get in,” Martin said of registration time.

The league was formed 11 years ago to provide a choice in family recreation and was “designed as a night out,” Martin said. Coed volleyball leagues were very popular, and organizers believed that a coed softball league also would do well.

“[It] provides a good night of family entertainment,” Martin said.

“It’s something we can do together,” said league member Mickey Hogan of Brewer. Hogan has participated in the league since it began.

Her husband, Tim, also has participated from the beginning, taking a couple of years off at one time for health reasons. Their two oldest daughters, Heather and Erica, also play, as well as Hogan’s two brothers, Jim and Matt Nadeau, and some close friends.

All play on the team Hogan’s Heroes, a name that has taken her through bowling, volleyball and softball, Hogan said. Her youngest daughter Toni, 17, hopes to participate with the family next year.

“We’re not real competitive. We’re there for the fun,” Hogan said.

Hogan’s Heroes has won four games and lost three so far this season. They have three more games to play, and then play-offs begin, Hogan said.

“Teams typically play one or two games a week,” Martin said. Three games per night are played starting at 6:15 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Doyle Field, which is next to the Brewer Auditorium.

There are two divisions of seven teams – American Division and National Division. Teams play against one other within their division.

The American Division is the “more serious” of the two, Martin said. The division plays in weekend tournaments, including next week’s State ASA Tournament July 25-26 in Augusta.

Martin said the National Division is a more recreational league, one that is less likely to travel.

The league is for adults who are at least 18 years old or have finished high school. Teams must have five men and five women on the field at the same time. Men and women alternate batting.

The league is open to residents of other towns, as well as to Brewer residents. Martin said that the league is about 75 percent nonresident.

There is a $320 league fee per team to participate, with nonresidents paying an additional $20 per person.

In addition to helping with expenses such as paying umpires and the league commissioner, purchasing softballs and lining the field, the fees cover team registration with the Amateur Softball Association.

Martin said that many players return year after year.

“We believe they get an enjoyable evening from the number of returning teams,” Martin said. “We figure they must have enjoyed their experience.”

Martin does not feel that there is a difference in the way men and women play the game.

“The ladies are just as competitive as the men,” he said, adding that there are as many high quality women players as men players.

The Adult Co-ed Softball League season runs from the first week in June through the second week of August, in anticipation of the upcoming football season.

Registration for the 2004 season will be held in mid-April. There are no reserved spots for returning teams.

“It’s first come, first served,” Martin said.

To obtain information about the Brewer Adult Co-ed Softball League, call Mike Martin at 989-5199 at the Brewer Parks and Recreation Department.