For St. Thomas resident Dave Schroeder, the game has changed dramatically since he first stepped onto an Osage Men’s League softball field in 1982.

The bats are different. The balls are different. The bases are farther apart. Teams come and go. The league has shrunk from more than 30 teams to around 20.

Yet after 44 seasons, Schroeder still laces up his cleats every summer. The reason has changed over the years, too.

It’s not necessarily about championships anymore; it’s about family. “Honestly,” he said, “that’s why I’m still doing it.”

Today, Schroeder plays alongside his son, Alex, who now manages the St. Thomas team.

“The opportunity wouldn’t be there, or the drive wouldn’t be there near as much,” Schroeder said. “I mean, I love the game, but that’s what it’s about right now. Time spent with him, seeing him mature as a player, getting into the league, and seeing all that.”

As he looked around the league, he realized he isn’t alone.

“I look at some of the guys that are older now still playing,” he said. “Rick Wolfe, Mark Huhn and Pauly Gentges — those guys, their sons play on their teams. Jason Ollison, he plays on a team out of Brazito, and his son plays. The common denominator for us guys that do still play is that we’ve got a son playing. I can’t explain it. It kind of gets normal because we’ve been doing it for so many years, but that’s what keeps me going. It keeps me driven.”

That family connection has become one of the rewards of four decades spent around the game.

Schroeder has watched generations of players pass through the Osage Men’s League.

He has experienced championship runs, rebuilding years, and everything in between. “I’ve been on some teams where you get on a streak where things work out,” he said. “If you’re on a hot streak toward the end of the season, that’s the best time to be on a hot streak. Everybody’s hitting, everybody’s playing good defense, everybody gels. We’ve been on a few of those. We’ve had some good playoff runs and tournaments when you get guys like that.”

Today’s players, he said, often arrive with impressive athletic ability. “Most of these young kids who get into the league now played baseball in high school somewhere,” he said. “They’ve got tremendous speed and defensive talent. Once they figure out how to hit the softball, they’re going to be tough.”

While talent has always mattered, Schroeder believes chemistry matters just as much.

During his years with St. Thomas, Schroeder said the focus has never been on recruiting star players from outside simply to chase championships.

Instead, the emphasis has remained on staying competitive while preserving the hometown identity of the team. “We had one experience many years ago where we lost a couple guys,” he recalled. “Three young St. Thomas kids showed up at batting practice before the season, and we ultimately incorporated those three kids into the lineup. We never tried to get anybody just to get better. They were St. Thomas boys, and they ended up playing with us for quite a few years.”

Schroeder said there is a difference between trying to improve and simply chasing wins. “We wanted to be competitive,” he said. “Winning isn’t everything, trust me, but playing competitive is. You want to be competitive.”

He believes many hometown teams still operate that way.

“Our whole goal here at St. Thomas — and I think a lot of the other town teams — is we’re St. Thomas guys. Meta’s the same way.”

When St. Elizabeth eventually folded because it could no longer field enough players, Schroeder said St. Thomas welcomed a few of those players.

“They happened to be friends with my son,” he said. “They wanted to continue playing, and we’d lost a couple guys, so we brought them in.”

More than anything, he values the people. “Our team’s got a good mix of guys,” he said. “Everybody gets along. I think most teams can probably say that. Most of the guys in the league — young, old or middle-aged — they’re all good people.”

One of the biggest changes Schroeder has witnessed is how other teams have evolved in response to powerhouse programs. He pointed to teams such as the former JPhenny’s squad — now Premier — which has included semi-professional tournament players over the years.

“They’ve had some semi-pro players — guys that get paid to play tournaments on weekends,” he said.

Rather than criticize those teams, Schroeder sees their success as motivation. “It’s good to have a tough team like that because everybody wants to beat them,” he said.

At the same time, those dominant teams influence how other rosters are built.

“Some of these teams are trying to build their team to beat them,” he said. “They’re bringing guys in, and maybe you lose some of that hometown mentality because maybe you don’t have enough hometown guys that are really good players.”

Still, he noted that today’s players often know one another regardless of where they live. “It’s not like they’re strangers,” he said. “With social media, everybody knows everybody.”

Schroeder said one of the biggest changes over 44 years is bat technology. “There was a time — probably from when I started in ‘82 into the early ‘90s — when bat technology changed,” he said.

Back then, leagues used red-dot softballs and had no home-run limits. “Then all of a sudden there were too many guys hitting home runs,” he said. “It wasn’t because everybody got in the weight room. Bat technology changed.”

As composite bats evolved, the game evolved with them.

“The balls changed because of that,” Schroeder said. “Home-run limits came in.”

He remembers when the aluminum Louisville Slugger No. 7 dominated the sport.

“Then DeMarini came along,” he said. “If you didn’t have that technology, you just weren’t hitting as many home runs, weren’t hitting as many gap shots or hard balls. You had to have the technology because if you didn’t, you were at a disadvantage.”

Even today, he sees teams trying to maximize equipment.

“When you see a team with nine or 10 guys swinging the exact same bat, they’re maximizing that technology.”

Another significant change came with the move from 65-foot bases to 70-foot bases.

“You see a lot more double plays now,” Schroeder said. “You didn’t see many before because 65-foot bases just didn’t allow it.”

The league itself has also changed, dropping from 32 teams to roughly 20.

For Schroeder, the decline isn’t primarily about money.

“Cost isn’t why people aren’t having teams,” he said. “People spend money on things they enjoy.”

Instead, he believes changing family priorities have had the biggest impact.

Schroeder understands why many players leave the game earlier than previous generations.

“I’ve got four kids,” he said. “I went through raising them just like everybody else.”

There were years when he played only occasionally.

“I was a sub,” he said. “Maybe I’d play a game here, a game there. You do what you’ve got to do.”

The difference today, he believes, is the explosion of youth sports. “We’re carting seven-year-olds to tournaments every weekend during the summer,” he said.

For men in their athletic prime, balancing softball with family becomes difficult. “When you’re around 28 to 35, that’s your prime,” he said. “Those guys fall away quicker because they’ve got family obligations. Little League sports occupy so much of their weekends.”

He believes that explains much of the league’s decline.

“The good thing is this year I’ve seen quite a few brand-new young teams,” he said. “I like seeing that because it’s a bunch of kids just out of school getting together and making it happen.”

Asked what could strengthen the league, Schroeder immediately returned to young players. “You’ve got to get these young guys playing early,” he said, adding the key is leadership. “You’ve got to have somebody step up and be the manager — handle the money, handle the bats, organize everything.”

That responsibility sometimes keeps teams from forming.

“But get those young teams going,” he said. “There’s always going to be teams that drop because guys get older, start families and have other priorities. That’s always happened. It just happens sooner now.”

Away from the softball diamond, Schroeder has been married to his wife, Judy, for 39 years.

The couple met after high school at a dance in Meta. He attended St. Elizabeth High School while Judy attended Blair Oaks.

Today, they have four children — three daughters and son Alex — along with three grandchildren.

Two daughters are now raising families of their own, and watching his children become parents has given him a new perspective. “They’ve jumped out of the nest, and they’re building their own nest,” Schroeder said. “They’re doing just fine.”

As his children became busier raising families, he discovered how valuable time together really is. “Time spent with them is precious,” he said. “When you’re raising kids, life is busy. Then you get older, and your kids are busy raising theirs.”

He laughed while recalling getting scolded by his daughters while spoiling the grandchildren. “I love it,” he said. “I’m just being Grandpa.”

For Schroeder, the league has never been just about wins and losses. He remembers watching his own children run around the ballpark while his wife brought them to games.

Now he sees the next generation doing the same thing.

“It’s a great environment,” he said.

He recently watched a game in Loose Creek, where families packed the stands. “There were moms and dads, grandmas, brothers, sisters — everybody was there,” he said. “That was great for Loose Creek.”

He believes those evenings are vital to rural communities.

Wednesday and Thursday nights, he said, give communities something special. “A lot of people come down to watch, watch kids play, kind of like when their own kids were in Little League. They’re a big deal for a community.”

After 44 years, Schroeder hopes that’s what people continue to remember about the Osage Men’s League — not simply the scores and championships, but the friendships, the families and the hometowns that continue gathering around a softball field on warm summer evenings. “It’s a great thing for all these towns,” he said.