WHO ELSE WANTS TO PLAY SOFTBALL WITH CURTIS CALDWELL?

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Originally uploaded by Laurel Grove

If you ever thought about playing softball, Curtis Caldwell is our resident expert – with 23 years' experience!! He has played locally, and in traveling teams, which took him to the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.

"A lot of the guys can't run, but if you can get on base someone will run for you," says Curtis. He also adds; "We have a many senior softball players in their eighties."

The Gwinnett Senior Softball players have many trophies to brag about!

* 1996: The Georgia Peaches' sixty-five and older division wins the world championship in Phoenix Az.
* 1998: The Georgia Peaches' seventy-five and older division wins the SSWS (Senior Softball World Series) in Dalton, Ga.
* 2007: The Georgia Peaches' seventy-five and older division wins the SPA (Senior Players Association) in Dalton, Ga.

In addition to the softball trophies he has won over 23 years, Caldwell has a collection of varsity rings and a custom engraved Bulova watch to add to his softball souvenirs.

In 1996, his team won first place in the 65+ bracket in Phoenix, Arizona, which was a final world championship game. 1998 saw another first place win in the Senior Softball World Series game. Curtis has many handsome trophies from these games, including a watch and two rings, which are the portable trophies he will be happy to show you. For the year 2008, the Senior Players Association (SPA) will host tournament games in Marietta, Georgia. Curtis says they are always recruiting in the newspaper for all who would like to play (ladies, too!) and at present, the team will be practicing at Lucky Shoals Park while their usual playing field at Best Friend Park is being refurbished. The teams play and/or get ready for tournaments twice each year, from the first week in April through July, and the first week in August through October or weather permitting, into early November.

Curtis owned and operated a welding supply business in Lawrenceville from l979 until 1995. When his wife passed away he sold the business and after several years of living alone, moved to Laurel Grove. "It is good here, with all the activities offered and great people to talk to," according to Curtis, and if you want to have more information regarding softball, he will be happy to tell you all about it. He has four children, a son residing in Gainesville, a son and daughter in Lawrenceville, a daughter in Ellenwood, seven grandchildren, and four
great grandchildren.

"If anybody wants to come with me and see what it's like, I'd be glad to take them with me to practice" says Caldwell.

Caldwell practices at Best Friend park every Tuesday and Saturday at 11:00am all year round."As long as the tempurature is over fifty and it's not raining, we have practice," says Curtis.

~Written by resident writer Joan Kalkbrenner