Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2019 - 34

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Wellness Wisdom

BCBA Softball Team an
Exercise in Camaraderie
By Raymond Edward Baker, Esquire, and Michael C. Wieder, Esquire

I

n August of 2018, the
Berks County Bar
Association achieved
something that never had
been done in the Association's
history: its scrappy softball
team was crowned the
champions of the Berks
County Professionals Softball
League. Behind the hard
work of players, such as
Jordan Fegley and Coach
Mike Wieder, and Manager
Jay Kurtz, the softball team
was a true cross-section of
attorneys from all walks of life and all sorts of career paths.1
Whether you were an Assistant District Attorney, in-house
counsel, or something in between, all types met on the diamond
to form a cohesive unit that triumphed over all competitors and
shocked the league. Such friendly, albeit intense, competition
offers local lawyers so many benefits that are often overlooked in
the way of exercise, social connections, and reasons to remain tied
to your community.
It is no secret that the practice of lawyering is not one
of physical strain, save for the lugging of large case-files and
sprinting to the courtroom because you failed to account for
Route 422 being backed up more than usual on a Thursday
morning. In fact, attorneys rank near the top of every statistic as
it relates to obesity, death and other unpleasant maladies. Add the
high levels of stress that are inflicted on the majority of members
of the legal profession in their day-to-day lives and it becomes
34 | Berks Barrister

crucial to the health of Berks
Bar Association members to
find a way to blow off steam.
Once to twice a week, many
of the younger attorneys in
the Bar Association were able
to find their way to a baseball
diamond for a few innings of
slow-pitch softball and for a
nice trip to a local watering
hole afterwards.
As for the season,
a team that had been
perennial cellar dwellers in
the standings found itself in
the driver's seat for the entire season, getting out to a 4-1 start
and consistently ranked near the top of the league standings -
usually no worse than second place. Despite a two-game losing
skid, including dropping a contest to Bar brethren on the Stevens
& Lee Team, the Bar Association team finished the season with
just three losses and easily made the playoffs. During the playoff
run, the Bar Association's bats could not be silenced. Powered by
its offense, the team captured the league trophy for the first time.
The trophy is proudly displayed near the front entrance to the Bar
Building if anyone wants to check out the hardware.
For everyone involved, the path to the league championship
was a great way to spend a summer. It was a time to gain a
closer connection with members of the Bar you don't see every
day. It was common to have judicial clerks cheering on contract
lawyers as they banged out hit after hit, scoring assistant district
attorneys who donned their uniforms mere hours after attending
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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2019

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