By Stacy Case
…..Said about 130 young female sluggers of a local recreational sports program.
And that’s why braids and bows peeking out of pink helmets can mean just one thing this time of year…..Panthers softball is in full swing!
The time is upon us to lace up those cleats , put on sunscreen and get a front row seat as the Youth Softball Association of Coral Springs (YSACS) girls take to the fields at Betti Stradling Park for their home games.
The YSACS welcomes players ages 6-16 to participate in its various age divisions, regardless of previous experience. You can watch the adorable, heart-warming younger girls in the 6U pigtails and 8U ponytails first learn the general concepts of the game or you can be a spectator of the more acclimated players in the 10U intermediate division. Then there’s the often more veteran girls playing in the fast pitch programs; the 12U juniors and 16U seniors, who have started to bring the heat to the game for the Panthers. But the league also has some even more serious players who participate in its travel program for the 8U, 10U , 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U players, who are generally the more competitive, experienced competitors.
Let’s just put their varying softball resumes aside because their simple desire to play the game seems to be enough reason for their families to continue to take their kids to the field season after season.
The volunteers must be doing something right, as the league has been around for quite a few decades.
“We really try to make it especially fun for the younger players, and hope they continue to come back from one season to the next,” said Randy Friedman, who is now vice president of recreation for the YSACS program, that has an impressive 80 percent retention rate. “We have good coaches, and it’s great to see that we have even more participation this year in the younger age groups.”
Chuck Michel’s daughters fall into that classification of ‘returners’ to the league and have decided to come back for another season. He speaks very highly of the recreational Panthers’ influence on his own children.
“The program is a good opportunity for the girls to participate in a sport, learn about teamwork, competition and, sportsmanship,” he says, referring to his daughters Addison (coming back for a third season) and Ashleigh (in her second season) who play in the 8U division. “They get to make new friends.”
The YSACS recreation program has two seasons in which players can indulge, offering families some scheduling flexibility. The Fall games begin around Labor Day and conclude near Thanksgiving while the Spring season spans from February through May.
And during the seasons, while the Panthers’ home games take place in Coral Springs, they do represent the program just outside the city limits when they inter-league with Margate and Coconut Creek’ s softball programs in respective age groups.
Games have been underway for several weeks already so the time to root for these girls is NOW!
