Girl Scout Hosts Softball Expo as Part of Gold Award
The Gold Award is the highest achievement a girl scout can reach. The project challenges girl scouts to identify a problem, either in their community or in the world, and create a lasting solution to the problem.
Katie Rygiel, a local Hillsborough High School student and varsity softball player, chose to do her project about softball education. She challenged herself to create a solution to the lack of opportunities for girls to play softball in Hillsborough.
The idea for the project came to her after talking with people in this area about why they think girls are giving up softball, Rygiel said. She said one reason that came up was that girls can get bored of playing the game because it is a slow-paced sport. She said because of this, girls stop playing at a young age and as girls get older, the opportunities to keep playing become scarce.
Rygiel recounted various teams that she has played for over the years that no longer exist. She played for a team called Hillsborough Hustle for a year and for a team called Amwell Attitude for four years, but both teams stopped playing due to a lack of players.
She said she wanted to encourage girls to play softball at a younger age with the hope that they would continue on and build up teams for older girls.
Rygiel’s project consists of three parts. The first being a video showing interviews with current and former softball players to showcase why softball is such a worthwhile and impactful sport. The interview subjects also discuss why they continue to play the sport and why young girls should begin playing. This video will be shown at the local library as well as at the event that makes up the second part of her project.
The second part of her project is the Softball Expo, an event sponsored by the Hillsborough Recreation Department, entitled Why Softball? The event will be run by Rygiel with help from the Hillsborough Recreation Department, the Hillsborough High School Varsity Softball team and the Top Gun Fastpitch Organization. At the event, girls can participate in drills that teach different skills, but are also fun and enjoyable.
Rygiel said she believes on-going clinics help build the skills of current players, but they do not necessarily attract new girls to the sport. She said the Why Softball? Video and Exposure Day will hopefully bring girls to the sport who have not experienced it before.
“I hope that people learn the benefits of softball and are encouraged to join a recreation team or even try for a travel or middle school team,” she said.
The third part of her project will be a resource with information about these drills that can be distributed to recreation coaches. She will be putting the drills and other important softball information on a website for any coaches to see. Rygiel said that recreation coaches are often parents of players and many have little to no coaching experience, despite good intentions. The local recreation department agreed to send the website link to any volunteer who signs up to coach.
“There are many websites that offer tips for coaching, but I feel that my plan is unique as it is one, easy to use, free resource that is distributed directly when you become a recreation coach,” she said.
Rygiel said she wanted to do her project on softball because she knew she would be spending a lot of time working on it and she wanted to spend that time working on something she enjoyed.
Photo Credit: Katie Rygiel
“Softball is my life,” said Rygiel. “When I play it is easy to let go of everything else and focus on having fun and playing what I love. I absolutely love the environment that I am in.”
Rygiel said she especially loves her teammates and how the sport has brought them all together. She said she is very close to them and considers them her family.
“I always have all my sisters there to support me if I am having a rough day, and I know I can count on them to cheer me up,” said Rygiel.
The Why Softball? Softball Expo will be held at Ann Van Middlesworth Park on Saturday, August 10 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and will feature fun activities that teach about softball and the benefits of continuing with the sport. To register for the program, please click here and choose “Softball Expo.”
