Jacob Sloboda faced drug charges in federal court about four years ago. As he waited for an inevitable prison sentence, he said he felt scared and isolated. That's when his wife suggested he start playing softball.
"It was really life changing," Sloboda said. "It has really opened doors for my recovery and allowed me to make new friends and take chances."
Sloboda joined a division of the Clean and Sober Softball Association in Pierce County before going to prison. Now 41 and out of prison, Sloboda plays with his wife on a team called "Breaking the Cycle" in a new division in Thurston County.
Jeff Grant serves as the director of the Olympic Division that Sloboda and more than 100 other people from beginners to seasoned players of all genders have joined. The division has begun its first season and had a kick-off fundraiser on March 17.
To play, each of them has to be clean and sober for at least 30 days. If players relapse, Grant said they are confronted but not chased away.
"We try to support them as much as possible," Grant said. "A lot of us have been there and a lot of us have relapses and come back. At the end of the day, this about showing people that you can have fun in recovery."
Grant and his partner, Rachel Dreon, said they played in the Pierce County division and tried to get other Thurston County residents to join. However, the commute proved to be a challenge for many prospective players.
To bring more of the fun down to Thurston County, the couple tried to form some clean and sober teams last year in the local beer leagues at Yauger Park.
News of their endeavor spread through social media and word of mouth until the couple said they had three full teams.
"I think when we had those three teams out at Yauger, that was when the light bulb went on," Grant said. "This is something that needs to happen pretty soon."
From there, they continued to build more teams. Many of the players, Dreon said, come from local recovery groups, treatment centers and area non-profits.
"A lot of people coaching on all our teams are people who work in the behavioral health field, who are drug treatment counselors, or people who are active in recovery themselves," Dreon said.
Grant serves as the clinical director at Royal Life Centers' aftercare and outpatient facility in Lacey. He also has lived experience with recovery. He stopped using heroin in 2016 after seeking treatment with local programs.
"I know what it did for me and I just want to do that for other people," Grant said. "I want everybody to have the same opportunity that I had and everybody to be able to make the same connections that I did."
Though she helped found the Olympic Division, Dreon has stepped into a coaching role rather than a leadership one. She said she decided to do that because she's running for Thurston County Commissioner in District 2, the seat now held by Gary Edwards.
Like Grant, Dreon has her own recovery story. She said she turned to drugs after becoming a young, widowed mother. She got a second chance after graduating from Thurston County Drug Court in 2005 and has been involved in the local recovery community ever since.
For Dreon, the Clean and Sober Softball Association provides a fun outlet for people in recovery. In addition to creating bonds among players, she said it also helps strengthen families.
"We encourage people to bring their children," Dreon said. "We've watched babies be born through the seasons. We encourage teams to become family. Really, that connection is what's keeping people clean."
That's proven true for Sloboda. He said he started using drugs in high school and just "lost sense of reality" for about two decades. His actions, he said, strained his relationships with the mothers of his three children.
Nowadays, he works at a hardware store and feels better connected with his family. A big part of that improvement has been due to the softball.
"It really brings me and my family together," Sloboda said. "Me and my wife play together, which has really brought us together. My daughter comes too."
Derek Seely, 28, plays in the Olympia Division with Sloboda. He's also played in clean and sober tournaments in Florida and Texas. Like many other players, his current situation stems from a turning point in his life.
Seely had been in and out of treatment since 2015 for methamphetamine and fentanyl use. Two years ago, he said he relapsed while visiting his family in the Tri-Cities area. He said he fell into old habits for about 10 days before realizing he was "wasting his life away."
"It was bad just how quickly it progressed," Seely said. "I'm glad I did stop when I did. I know that had I kept using, I probably would have died or ended up in jail."
He sought treatment again and found fellowship in the Clean and Sober Softball Association. As a Mason County resident, he said driving to Pierce County was difficult. That made joining the Olympic Division an easy pitch for him.
Though he still has his challenges, Seely said he knows he can rely on his teammates.
"I know that if push comes to shove, or if I need somebody in my darkest hour, I can call anybody that I have met playing softball and they'll be there for me," Seely said.
