GREENVILLE – The Greenville Girls Softball Association (GGSA) registrations wind down this Saturday for the 2021 spring/summer softball season.
“The community has always stepped up and supported these young athletes,” said GGSA President, Eric Fellers., now in his ninth consecutive year at the helm.“The facility is a good thing to have for our community.”
“It’s a big year for us as we came back for COVID,” said 15 year GGSA Fast Pitch coordinator, Shawn Shaffer. “While we were one of only a few to open up last summer it wasn’t normal by any means. The ballpark is one of those places where you get that sense of normalcy and we are all ready for that.”
Sign-up today at www.ggsaonline.com or attend sign-up day at Stebbins Field. The final sign-up day is scheduled for Saturday, March 20th from Noon – 2:30 p.m. at Stebbins Field in Greenville.
Applications have been released through Greenville City Schools, area private schools, pre-schools, Greenville YMCA, and are available at The Academy softball training facility in Greenville.
GGSA offers leagues for all girls ages 4-19 years of age. Fast Pitch is offered to all Greenville girls and girls outside of the Greenville area who are not offered fast pitch in their respective age group. Slow Pitch is offered to all Darke County Girls.
“Hopefully we get enough kids signed up for each league that we can continue to have all the leagues,” Fellers said.
GGSA, founded in 1972, is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization. The organization is dedicated to providing recreational softball activities for over 500 young ladies from Greenville and surrounding areas.
Stebbins Field and Lady Wave Stadium plays host to many leagues, special events, and tournaments throughout the year including; Greenville Lady Wave High School home games, GGSA/USSSA Summer Smackdown Tournament National Qualifier (June 11-13), USSSA Freedom Cup Tournament (July 2-4), the OHSAA DIV Regional Tournament, Miami Valley League Middle School Tournament, GGSA Treaty City Rec All-Star Tournament (July 23-25), and the GGSA Fall Fast Pitch League (September) and more.
The Stebbins Field complex added two new softball fields in 2020 to bring the complex to six diamonds including Lady Wave Stadium, home of the Lady Wave High School softball team under the leadership of veteran Lady Wave coach, Jarrod Newland.
“Coach Newland has done a great job,” Fellers noted. “He is always pushing these kids to be better every year and it’s a new crop of kids this year. He’s going to have a lot of new faces out there.”
Fellers took time to talk GGSA including finances and the lack of 2020 finances with the new 2021 season on the horizon.
“With COVID last year we still had a number of kids still come out and play but as far as fund raising and programs that we do throughout the year to bring money into the ballpark – we weren’t allowed to do a lot of those things so financially we were behind quite a bit of money last year,” said Fellers. “This year we are still going to do our regular fund raisers and hopefully add a couple in throughout the year so we can try and make up some of the finances.”
“With the two new fields we will have more teams here this year and with the expansion of the school putting some fields in we can use also – that will help bring a little bit more money in and then we are going to add another one (tournament) in July to bring some extra revenue in.”
“It is always good to have the high school out here – they do a good job,” added Fellers. “We try to do extra things every year to try and make the place bigger and better – not only the varsity field but the whole complex. It’s always good to see the people from the community come out and support these young ladies.”
