Tim Ball remembers the big red rubber kickball days of his youth as uncoordinated playground fun.

“You don’t need to be the fastest kid; you don’t need to be the biggest kid,” said Ball. “You got to be the kid that wants to play.”

Now big kids – as in adults – can join in the fun as the childhood pastime makes its debut in Renton for the first time this summer. The City of Renton’s Community Services Department has added an adult kickball co-ed league to its roster of sports this season. There are 10 players to a team and ages range from 18 to 50 plus.

Games are being played on Fridays at Liberty Park in downtown Renton and Kennydale Lions Park.

The Renton Reporter caught up with two teams who were about to battle on July 10 at Liberty Park. Members of team “Rain City” and “Just for Kicks” gathered around a softball field stretching and joking with one another. Tim Ball rounded up a lot of the team members through his softball and community contacts. He’s always played with co-workers in a Seattle league, where the sport is very popular, he said.

The Seattle leagues have been around for about 10 years.

Lauren Ball, Tim’s daughter, is also on the team. She calls it “friendly jostling and just good ribbing.”

“I’ve always been into sports and kickball, it’s sort of a slower-paced, more fun, less competitive version of soccer and baseball combined,” she said.

It’s her first time in an actual league but not playing the sport. The 24-year-old fondly remembers it from her younger days. In just one game, her team has been able to establish the “proper” and “absolutely ridiculous” way to catch the 10-inch red ball, Lauren said.

“It involves mouth wide open, arms out and you have to make an ‘Ahhhhh’ sound,” she said.

Eddie Dudek, 49, was on the fence about joining the league, but eventually he relented.

“My mind was telling me ‘Yeah,’ my body was telling me ‘Well, I don’t know, think about it,’” he said laughing.

He was moved to play because of his memories of running, kicking the ball and tagging people out were just too enticing. Kickball was one of Dudek’s favorite things to do as a kid.

“It’s a lot harder now than it was when I was a kid, from what I remember,” he said. But the fun keeps him interested and hoping the league will grow and become popular like the leagues in Seattle.

Kickball in Renton is a first for Gary Gilman, who has been an umpire in the city for 35 years. He officiated the match last Friday.

“The first game went really well, really well,” Gilman said. “No one got hurt and that’s the No. 1 thing. If you’ve ever been to softball games there’s usually an ambulance that shows up once a night because people get hurt. This takes a lot of the danger out of playing.”

The league is six teams right now. The kickball season is eight games plus a playoff. It’s too late to sign up for this season but look for it to return next summer. Players sign up as a team and it costs $300 for the whole team, about $30 per person.

Registration details come out in the city’s winter/spring recreation guide available online at rentonwa.gov.