Softball: Families playing the generation game

Adam and Peter Mathieson (left) and Mark and Joshua Ludlow are father-son combinations in Dunedin club softball this season. Photo by Linda Robertson.

It is probably not unprecedented for two father-and-son pairs to be playing in one sporting grade - but it must be pretty rare.

Peter Mathieson (50) and son Adam (19) play for Ellis Park in Dunedin premier softball, while Mark Ludlow (50) and son Joshua (17) are regulars for the Cardinals.

The Mathiesons have been on the same diamond for about three years but this is the first full season the Ludlows have suited up together.

Pitcher Peter Mathieson, who works at Hillside Engineering and has been playing softball for 35 years, said he was having a ball playing alongside first baseman Adam, who works at Foodstuffs.

"I suppose we have our moments, like all parents and their children. But I get quite a buzz out of it," Mathieson sen said.

"Softball's been a big part of my life and I still enjoy the game. But the thing that keeps me going now is the boys."

Boys? Yes, another Mathieson boy - Logan Park High School pupil Benjy (17) - plays for the Dodgers club.

Mark Ludlow estimates he has been playing softball for the best part of 40 years.

The self-employed concrete and plaster mix supplier is delighted to have been joined on a regular basis by son Joshua, a pupil at Kaikorai Valley College.

"He was sort of hanging around a little bit last year but this is really the first full season that we're playing together," Mark Ludlow said.

"He's getting some opportunities and he's working pretty hard.

"It's good to see him mixing with the older guys, enjoying himself and then heading in for a raspberry and coke afterwards."

But does the younger Ludlow, a pitcher, listen to his father?

"Sometimes. He's not too bad. He's a teenager."

Ludlow sen has played most positions but took up catching for the Cardinals because nobody else wanted to play behind the plate.

That has come in useful this season as Joshua is getting regular starts as a pitcher for the club.

The family connection continues through Mark Ludlow's partner's son, Christian Dowie (13), who plays both morning and afternoon softball.

"I guess softball has always been one of those sports that families play together," Ludlow said.

"And it's also a game that old people like me can carry on playing for a long time."

Family bragging rights reside for now with the Mathiesons, whose Ellis Park club is third in the premier competition with a 4-5 record.

The Cardinals have won just one of their nine games.