The San Quentin Hardtimers’ opening game took on Lost Dreams Awaken. As the team came to the Lower Yard, the Hardtimers warmed up for the game.
Lost Dreams Awaken, a coed team of softballers, plays in the North Bay Softball League. It is the second season that LDA promoted sobriety through sports while celebrating, laughter, and easy-going rapport.
First-time visitor Rudy Lucero said, “Society doesn’t believe [prison] should have activities like this, [but] contributing reminds recovery gives me choices.” Lucero has been clean for 15 months.
The Hardtimers’ Armando Ybarra talked about playing his first prison game. “[Playing sober teams] allows me to see that if you’re making the right choices … it’s what can follow for me, too.”
The stars of the outside team were Meilia Sommers and her husband, John. They wore jerseys that read “Mr. Shaggy” and “Mrs. Shaggy.”
Formerly incarcerated, John Sommers said he is clean for 12 years and has an “awesome” welding job.
“I’m a recovering addict who was in and out of incarceration,” said Meilia who also coaches the team. “Giving back … reminds me that there’s life after incarceration.”
John Sommers — Mr. Shaggy — talked about his lived experience. “I’ve been on the same yards. It’s inspirational because I remember being incarcerated here. I used to see dudes released come back in … you can get out and be successful and have a normal life, but the mentality starts inside.”
One of the “dudes” to whom Sommers referred was resident Coby Phillips, a spectator at the Hardtimers’ opening day. “These groups … promote the California Model as a way of normalizing life on the inside to the point that it resembles life on the outside,” said Phillips.
The Hardtimers’ manager, Rick Dias, spoke about the day’s activities. “It was fun and competitive … For them to come in and experience this is great. The best thing for them is not to see us as criminals but as humans.”
Dias said playing softball allowed everyone to be accepted. “We aren’t defined by our mistakes,” he said, adding, the team couldn’t practice much because of the weather.
“It was a close game; no complaints, only a few mental errors, but nothing we couldn’t overcome, said Dias.
LDA took the lead in the extra inning, but SQ won on a walk-off single in the bottom of the tenth inning, winning 17-16.
“My hope is we have two hours of fun every day we’re on the field to forget that we’re in prison. Today we did that with people in recovery, just like us,” said Dias.
