During the day, they’re bus drivers for the Clarkston Community School district.
By night, they’re star athletes for Independence Township Parks and Recreation’s inaugural adult kickball season.
It was school bus driver Renee Stiff who saw a flyer about the sport, and began to turn colleagues into teammates.
“We all wanted a little exercise and to get in shape. We always talked about it.”
Teammate Chris Post doesn’t hold back. Telling it like it is, she said, “We’re old coach potatoes.”
None of the members take credit for being active prior to this, and none have participated in organized sports before.
Stiff was surprised by the amount of people who were ready and willing to participate.
“I really didn’t think I’d get this many bus drivers to play.”
There are 15 bus drivers to be exact. Well, mostly bus drivers, with a few bus drivers’ husbands, on the team, too.
They call themselves Renee’s Rough Riders.
When asked, they’ll say they range in age from “young to mighty old.” Actually, it’s 24 to 70.
“That’s why were the Rough Riders,” team member Tammy Layton joked.
The team practices once or twice a week after work and face eight games this season.
They even have a theme song — “Another One Bites the Dust.”
“We have a lot of confidence,” Layton said.
But don’t ask them about their first game. They lost against Bordine’s Nursery. Though, they were tied until the fifth inning.
“It was past our bedtime,” Post laughed, revealing the real reason behind the loss.
“They just got some good breaks,” Hank Beard clarified. Beard is the team’s eldest player at 70.
The team also lost their second game to the Mixed Nuts.
Win or lose, the Rough Riders are having a great time.
“We’ve had a lot of laughs,” Stiff said.
“A whole lotta laughs,” many on the team admit.