This year, Cordova Recreation & Park District (CRPD) has joined other parks and recreation agencies state-wide in recognizing Parks Make Life Better!® Month (PMLB Month). Parks Make Life Better!® Month is a celebration of Parks and Recreation, as a community service, and a demonstration of how these services model compassion and inclusivity, and promote social equity and networking.
In celebration of PMLB Month, CRPD has chosen to highlight one community member, weekly, showcasing community pride, recognizing individual contributions and encouraging younger generations.
Part 3: Shawn aka "Sheddy" and the Dova Boys
Shawn Shedenhelm aka "Sheddy" has been playing in Cordova Recreation & Park District’s adult softball leagues since 1987. Though he experienced childhood in Iowa, Shawn’s fondest memories he recalls occurred here in Rancho Cordova parks. When Shawn moved into town, just before freshman year of high school, he was befriended by the self-proclaimed “Dova Boys” – a group of 10 young men who connected because of common interests and bonded for life.
All 10 boys in the “Dova Boys” friend group lived within the Cordova Recreation & Park District, attended a high school within the Folsom Cordova Unified School District and participated in District activities. Thus, the name "Dova Boys" came to be. “We were those kids playing in the trees, diving into the river, laughing on the rope swings and playing tag in the park. We met through gaming like Dungeons & Dragons, but also through sports and other activities of mutual interests,” Shawn said
One activity of peak interest for the Dova Boys was playing games outdoors. “We used to throw together pick-up, full-tackle football games, or we'd play this game called “paper tag,” in parks during fall or winter evenings when it gets foggy and cool. Basically, we used a rolled-up newspaper to tag people. If that newspaper touched someone, however you managed, that was the ‘tag.’ Back in the day, our biggest games included over 30 kids! Parks like Sunriver, Ahlstrom, Federspiel, and Dave Roberts were ideal because players couldn’t hide in the open fields. But we’d still use park amenities like the playground to hide or as obstacles. The game was like hide-and-go-seek combined with tag, on steroids,” Shawn said.
While the parks combined with youthful energy provided inspiration to create games like paper tag, Shawn felt that the biggest benefit of the outdoor spaces was the built camaraderie. To this day, six of the 10 Dova Boys still get together on a Saturday every month. “We’ll hang out from noon to midnight, help each other with a project and do lunch or play board games, go out to the movies, shoot billiards, etc. These relationships we built in middle school and maintained throughout high school were strong because we had these open spaces to play in. The freedom parks gave us outside of school and home life shaped our upbringing,” Shawn said.
The six Dova Boys who still reside in the District help out the community in a variety of professions including IT, Police Department, and water treatment. Beyond their 9-5 job, some even volunteer coach for local youth sports program. Shawn, for example, was a volunteer Pee Wee sports instructor for CRPD from 2014-2016 when his sons participated in the program. “I introduced my kids to sports this way, because the sports are taught over a short enough time period that there’s no burn-out and they got to be introduced to different concepts before they entered into organized sports,” Shawn said. “Watching my kids go through the program and helping coach it, well, I just think it’s a great introductory sport program for those who haven’t played or are just beginning to play.”
Currently, Shawn’s sons are seven and nine. They love learning technology and math at Code Ninjas or playing basketball and skateboarding at Mather Sports Complex (MSC). “We're looking into joining the Jr. King's league. One of the guys I play softball with wants to volunteer coach for the program, so we’re even more interested because of that aspect. The fact he can volunteer coach and wants to, that’s community investment,” Shawn said.
This community investment spans farther than parents wanting to help Coach. Shawn is in awe of the community participants who have shown care towards his sons. “At least a few times a month, I’ll go out to the skate park with an ice chest full of cold drinks to share. What’s nice is, I’ll offer a soda or water to some of the other advanced skaters, and they’ll come over and give my kids pointers, or initiate showing the kids some skills on their own. The community out here is pretty great,” Shawn said.
Shawn has seen these aspects of community in his fellow softball teammates, as well. While the full Dova Boys group may no longer be connected 30 years later, Shawn has bonded with his fellow league players that he interacts with Monday through Thursday at MSC.
“We’re there for each other all the time. It’s not just going out to play, you become a support system. When we see new players out there, we are inviting because we want them to enjoy the experience and keep coming out. Our guys will also help the staff clean up post-games. We look at it as a giving back system because the facility provides us with experience, and we want to take care of it right back. Especially when the staff has been so friendly and invested and interested in improving the experience for us. We see how the staff goes through all this effort for us, and so we think ‘what can we do for them?’ It comes in full circles,” Shawn said.
One of Shawn’s teammates, Marlin Stark, agrees with Shawn that adult sports leagues are a friendly community, beneficial to both mental and physical health. “These leagues get you out of your circle. Playing and enjoying a game with and against people from different backgrounds, ages, professions, etc. just gets you away from the day to day stuff. I have friends who play in both adult softball and basketball leagues because they are such a great outlet and mental release. You get to have fun and be with friends, or make new friends,” Marlin said.
Beyond Shawn’s Dova Boys reunions, or Marlin and Shawn’s game time with teammates, both community members have found a desire to return each season because of these relationships built within Cordova. “We all get together for BBQs at Heron Landing Community Park, whether it’s for practice or to end the season with a celebration. We do more than just play softball together. We’ll get together as a team for something like watching a UFC fighting event. You just build some amazing friendships playing in this league,” Marlin said.
Visit www.crpd.com for more information about adult sports leagues and park amenities offered by CRPD.