iKickBallz is starting its next season on Sept. 6 and is looking for FGCU students. The organization is run by FGCU alumni, Ryan Caviness.
Caviness graduated from FGCU in 2016 with a degree in criminal justice. He originally wanted to be a lawyer and then shifted to real estate. After those endeavors, he decided to start a co-ed kickball league.
The league is in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Estero. iKickBallz is currently in their 20th season, with players currently enrolled in FGCU and alums. The league has fall, spring and summer seasons that are ten weeks long and events usually run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The games are typically 50 minutes long. After the game, the participants usually attend social gatherings together.
Caviness strives to create an environment where anyone feels welcome in the league. It is one of the reasons he picked coed kickball as the sport to play. iKickBallz has featured participants as young as 18 and as old as 84.
Caviness also wants people to know about the social aspect of his league. The group will have their first meet and greet on Aug. 30 at Shea’s Lansdowne Street in Naples at 8 p.m.. The meet and greet will be a time for players to get to know each other and build camaraderie.
The league usually has games during the meet and greet. The gathering features activities such as flip cup, beer pong, trivia and karaoke. Caviness believes this is a way for people to make lifelong friends.
Caviness highlighted Willy Hayes, who is a member of iKickBallz and a friend of Caviness. Hayes was shy and did not talk to anyone at his first meet and greet. Over time, he shared more with his fellow kickball players. Willy is now one of the players that helps the shy players come out of their shell.
“Say you’re new to the area, it’s just a way to get out and meet new people, it’s really cool,” Caviness said.
Caviness also noted the networking opportunities. Caviness is a real estate agent and notes the networking opportunities that arise when so many potential homebuyers and sellers are in one location.
“I’ve been doing real estate for eight years. This is just a great way for me to make friends. And if you’re looking to buy your home or sell your home then so be it, … next thing you know, they’re going to this person for a doctor or this person for insurance,” Caviness said.
He has noticed that people show up for different reasons. He sees some people showing up just to play kickball. He also sees people who play kickball but are mainly there for the social aspect. He tries to be as accommodating as possible to both parties.
Caviness began iKickBallz from nothing and sees it expanding more than it already has. In five years, he hopes to see the league running national tournaments at FGCU. He can also see the tournaments being run in Naples.
iKickBallz makes sure they run at least one charity event a year. They ran the Kick for Clean Water event, where $3500 was donated to Captain for Clean Water. They’ve also worked with Toys for Tots and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Members of the league also assisted with Hurricane Ian relief efforts.
Caviness is proud of the work he’s done but his favorite aspect of this kickball journey is the friends he’s made.
“I think my friendships will endure long after this. I mean, I’ve met my best friends through here. I’ve met people that I would have never met unless I actually put the kickball thing together,” Caviness said.
iKickBallz is offering a special discount code for FGCU students who want to sign up. If you use the code fgcu2023, you’ll get 25% off your purchase. You will be able to sign up at iKickBallz.com
