New London — It has been suggested that you never become older if you carry childhood with you. And that's what they're doing, these attorneys, teachers, nurses and painters, all the regular Jimmys and Janes, who are going back to the blissful days of recess.

And so Tuesday nights now at Caulkins Park, giggles often graduate to abject laughter in an adult Kickball League, the grand old game from our childhood, whose rebirth has become the best time of the week for roughly 250 participants — men and women — from the region.

The league is the brainchild of Tara Hannaford, who runs Shoreline Social Sports & Events, whose website trumpets itself thusly: "a co-ed adult sports organization that provides a social atmosphere in a fun, competitive environment. Join us at the bar when the game is over!"

(Now who could resist a sales pitch like that?)

"I moved back to the area (from Washington, D.C.) and thought there was a need for more activities for adults," Hannaford said. "It's a good way for people to meet other people."

Indeed. Hannaford's company also offers leagues in basketball, cornhole, dodgeball, flag football, soccer and ultimate frisbee. Still, there's something about kickball that tugs at virtually everyone, perhaps for no other reason than it hearkens childhood innocence.

And everyone can do it.

And everyone does. The players come in varying ages, shapes, sizes, backgrounds and cultures, almost a Rockwellian portrait of what the metaphorical melting pot looks like.

The rules: Seven innings, three outs, 10 players at a time and four must be women. Everyone participating must kick. No head shots. The strike zone is one foot left and right of the plate and one foot above the ground from the bottom of the ball. The ball must be pitched underhand.

Some pitchers, who spin the ball adroitly on the occasionally cut lawn of Caulkins, turn this into a game of underrated skill, too.

Except that there's one other rule that trumps the rest: Combatants must bring a sense of humor. Clearly, this is not a problem in New London.

New London-based attorney Jason Burdick, for instance, refers to himself as "The LeBron" of the league, something his law partner, Greg Massad, severely disputes. Massad mentioned something about seeing Burdick bunt every now and then — that would be barely tapping the ball with your foot in an attempt to reach base — suggesting that LeBron's equivalent would never do such a thing.

Burdick, who often plays first base, later called himself "Don Mattingly." His longtime friend George Reid-Perry smirked at that one and said, "Well, we can all call ourselves a lot of things."

Another player wore a T-shirt to the game that read, "Do me a favor and stop talking," which is a sentiment that applies to certain people throughout all of our days.

This is kickball in New London.

"I think the best thing you can say," New London attorney Kristin Wainright said, "is that we all really look forward to this every week."

Which is only the entire point. There are no puffed-up testosterone displays here. Just sport at its core: fun.

"It adds more of a social aspect," Hannaford said. "It's a great way for people to meet each other who probably would have never done so. They have a good time and make new friends. People have met their fiancées here."

The leagues run in fall, spring and summer. The next opportunity to sign up is the fall, either individually or as a team, at shorelinesocialse.com.

"It's a lot of fun," Burdick said. "A good way to blow off a little steam."

And with that, Burdick retreated to shortstop, where he referred to himself as "Jeter."

Perfect.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.