PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When was the last time you played catch? For a lot of people, it’s been a while — but one Washougal man is trying to change that.
On a recent overcast day, KOIN’s own Dan Tilkin and Jenny Hansson headed out to Esther Short Park in Vancouver to play a game of catch with John Scukanec. Taking inspiration from a book and then a podcast, Scukanec set out to play catch with someone every day for a year — calling it “Catch 365”.
“I’ve not had anybody say no, and I’ve not had a bad experience, at all,” he said. “I have a little spiel where I’m like, ‘I know this is going to sound weird, but I’m not asking for money or anything, my name is john and I’m trying to do this thing.’”
Scukanec posts the encounters on his social media pages and often talks about it on his brother’s sports radio show on 1080 The Fan.
Now having reached 128 days of this, he’s gotten to know everyone — from a neighbor woman he knew nothing about, to a Zamboni driver, a sandwich delivery driver, and even the Oregon City High School baseball team.
“What I’ve found is that everybody has a story,” Scukanec said. “When you play catch with somebody it’s a shared moment. We don’t do that enough.”
He says that’s why he found this idea so intriguing, to make connections with strangers.
Playing catch was a way he always bonded with his dad. In fact, the two of them made a special trip a few years ago to do just that.
“I went with my dad and two sons,” Scukanec began. “We went to Iowa, we went to [the] Field of Dreams and played catch out in the corn — and it was magical.”
On day 110 of Catch 365, which happened to be Father’s Day, Scukanec played catch with his dad again.
These catches can last anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, he told KOIN. Sometimes they’re pre-arranged and other times, Scukanec just walks up and asks someone.
He says in most cases, the person hasn’t played in decades.
“Everybody plays when they’re a kid most the time and then we stop,” he said. “Part of the whole thing is, we shouldn’t stop.”
If you want to follow along with his catch adventures, or even if you want to play some catch yourself, follow Scukanec on Instagram and Twitter.