Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Softball Association will hold tryouts for its summer 10U and 12U traveling softball teams on Feb. 27 and March 6.
The SHSA also will field 14U and 16U teams this year.
The traveling teams are an opportunity for girls to play more competitive softball, said Sweet Home High School Varsity Softball Coach Steve Hummer.
“The Boys and Girls Club is more focused on friendship and having fun,” Hummer said. “It’s a lot less competitive.”
Those teams will play 10 to 13 games during the summer, he said. The 14U team will play 40 games. The 12U game will play 25 games, and the 10U level will have 16 games.
“Some kids want to be more competitive than others,” Hummer said. “We also recognize that some little girls just want to relax and have fun with their friend. You can do that here too. We want to have fun, but there’s a lot more competition involved.”
To qualify, children must be of minimum age for the division by Dec. 31, for example 9 or 10 for the 10U team. The teams use a tryout format to select players.
Cost for 12U is $125 and $50 for 10U.
“A lot of people think the ASA (American Softball Association) is very, very expensive,” Hummer said, but it’s not.
Sweet Home doesn’t travel out of state, he said. Most games are played at tournaments on weekends in Newberg and Junction City – usually four to five games each.
“If a kid can’t afford it, try out anyway,” Hummer said. “We can try to find a way. A lot of people get hung up on (the cost). We try to do the best we can to make it affordable.”
The program’s coaching staff tries to do the same things the high school team does, Hummer said. “It starts putting these kids on the track to play competitive high school softball.”
The concept is the same as the wrestling program’s Mat Club, Hummer said. It builds a successful, winning program by starting athletes young.
That’s why Coach Steve Thorpe’s wrestling program is always so strong, Hummer said. The Swim Club and swimming program do the same thing.
Softball isn’t just a spring sport, Hummer said. The ASA programs operate into August, helping the young athletes develop their skills.
“We want to win a state title,” Hummer said. “The 16U won a summer state title a couple of summers ago, and we want one at the high school.”
Things are looking good for this spring’s high school program, he said. The team will have a lot of depth after losing only one senior. At the same time, he’ll add freshmen who already have played 150 to 200 games.
For more information, contact Hummer at (541) 401-4456 or email [email protected].