by Jeff Kagan
Meet Norman Piasecki, a resident of Chelsea who spends most of his free time with balls in his hands. We’re talking about balls of sport. An avid participant in many athletic associations, Norman is a rather unusual athlete, as he can quote every line from the films Steel Magnolias and Mommie Dearest.
Norman is from everywhere. Yes, everywhere. Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, schooled in Bangkok, Thailand, then Milan, Italy, followed by Vienna, Austria. He flew around the world once, literally, which was a terrifying ordeal that might have contributed to his aversion for some extreme sports. “I'm scared to death of heights and because of that I'll never sky-dive or bungee jump.” His interest in sports dabbles in a more common realm, and not so much in the extreme.
“As a kid, I was not interested in sports. I was worried about not being good enough. Also, I wasn’t the most masculine of children and I was afraid of being teased by the other boys.” There is nothing more dissuading to a young gay man than a dose of pre-emptive self-imposed homophobia to keep him away from sports.
After finishing college and settling down in New York City almost 10-years ago, Norman started looking for a way to make some new friends. He didn’t know many people and turned to local sports leagues to help. “I decided to join Big Apple Softball in order to get out of the house and meet other gays. It turned out being exactly what I was looking for.” However, Norman had no experience. That didn’t stop the good people at the Big Apple Softball League from placing him on a team. He says, “The team I was put on was made up of all the players that no one wanted. We all came together, practiced hard and ended up being both the regular season and the playoff champions!”
Softball was great, but not enough to keep Norman satisfied. He was not a “single sport” kind of guy. He decided to try the New York Gay Football League next. He had some hesitation, not knowing the game, or whether or not he’d even enjoy it. Like with softball, he had no experience, but again, he was placed on a team and took it from there. “I met a lot of fantastic people who enjoyed playing, and were also really social. Surprising to me, I ended up loving football!” he says. “I went from zero experience to being pretty good at it. I've been to the championship game a handful of times, and even played in a couple of national tournaments.”
Most people would be content playing softball and football -- two sports which satisfy the needs of millions of Americans. But not Norman. Something was still missing from his life. He snooped around to see what new activities might pique his interest; and then he found the Big Apple Dodgeball League. Norman recalls, “I knew I wanted to play, immediately, and I've played every season since. It’s such a crazy sport! The people are ridiculously fun and so friendly and outgoing.”
We all know Norman very well at this point. And we know three sports aren’t enough for the Energizer Bunny. He keeps going and going and this time going for kickball. Yes, kickball, a game most of us haven’t played since 6th grade, which is making a big comeback in the form of the Big Apple Kickball League, New York’s newest LGBT sports group. Big Apple Dodgeball had been struggling to launch a kickball spin-off for the past year or so due to a limited number of available fields in the city. After many phone calls and waiting on waiting lists, the league is finally getting off the ground on the fields just opposite of Chelsea Piers at 28th Street. And of course, Norman was one of the first people to kick. Norman wouldn’t be the man he is today without sports. “I'm really into playing recreational sports. I LOVE living in New York City and living my ‘Happily Ever After’.”
Quickies
Puttin’ Up Their Dukes: The NYC Gay Hockey Association’s premiere team, Boxers NYC fared-thee-well in their inaugural season by making the playoffs. In Round 1, they took down the Snowmen (no snow-blower jokes please… except this one), but they weren’t able to tame the Sled Dogs (who’s bite is much worse than their bark). Here’s to the Fall 2011 Season, Boxers, which starts NOW! More at nycgayhockey.org.
An Ounce of Bounce: The NYC Gay Basketball League got off to a good start with some very close games. The most exciting saw Boxers NYC (A Division) take down Fenwick-Keats (A Division) 44-41. Bone Lick Park (A) sent Gym Bar to the showers in a squeaker, 57-51. The Gym Bar (B Division) team worked out Splash (B) 32-25, and Eagle (B) took a bite out of Muscle Maker Grill in a 36-32 match-up. More at nycgaybasketball.org.
First to Second: Big Apple Softball’s NYC Titans Over-40 team managed by Ed Sokolowski and Vinny Argiro placed 2nd year at the Chicago Senior Cup in early September. This is only one step back from last year when they placed 1st. More info at http://www.chicagoseniorcup.com.
Philadelphia Freedom: Congratulations to Out of Bounds buddy Bob Szwajkos, Marketing Director of Team Philadelphia on completing the Warsaw Marathon in Warsaw, Poland on September 25, 2011!
