Gold Coast Little League girls softball is gearing up for its fourth season.
Gold Coast Little League girls softball is gearing up for its fourth season.
More than 100 girls, ages 7 to 16, participated last season, and officials are hoping for the same, this year.
Player agent Neddie de Jesus said the league is “growing in a positive direction. The fruits of our labor are being shown.”
She and league vice president Mike de Jesus got involved with Little League because they “love the sport.” After a previous club program folded, there were several years with no organized girls softball teams in the area. Without girls playing the sport and learning the fundamentals, play at the high school level suffered.
De Jesus said one of the goals of Little League is to feed high school. The Kealakehe High School junior varsity team, she is happy to report, is “95 percent Little League this year.”
Kealakehe junior varsity coach and varsity assistant Loni Mercado has volunteered with her daughter’s Gold Coast teams since the league’s inception. She said that softball relates to life in “lots of ways” and helping with Little League, alongside other parent volunteers, has its rewards.
“You can make a difference in someone’s performance individually and athletically,” she said
“Little League builds a foundation to love the sport,” Mercado said. “Players won’t actually grow to love the sport without the basics.”
Little League focuses on the basics to a greater extent than some club programs, de Jesus said. The season begins with several weeks of clinics. All ages take the field, three days a week, to learn how to play the game.
“There’s a big difference between little and big kids,” said Mike de Jesus, who works with girls in the minors — the youngest age division. “Little ones, everyone needs teaching. If you hit the ball, run this way.”
Unlike other programs, Little League rosters do not necessarily stay the same season after season. Athletes are graded based on their performance at the clinics. If there are enough players for multiple teams, they are assigned numbers. The player agent then assigns players to teams, by number, not name, based on skill-level, to ensure parity. Coaches are required to play every athlete on game day.
In addition to fundamentals, Brianne Lauro, a Makua Lani Christian School eighth-grader beginning her fourth year with Gold Coast, said that softball teaches you to “prepare for any situation and never rely on yourself — rely on your team.”
Breianna Mcleod, an eighth-grader at West Hawaii Explorations Academy, said she plays because she likes softball because it gives her the opportunity to be active and compete with her friends. It’s also a way to “meet new people and have new experiences.” She hopes to play on the collegiate level someday.
Her father, Jeremy Mcleod, grew up playing baseball and is a volunteer coach with Breianna’s Gold Coast softball team. As a coach, he is able to share his passion for the game with his players.
The Mcleods moved to Hawaii from Idaho six years ago, and he said Hawaii is a “good place to grow up and play softball.” Player development is faster and better in Hawaii, where outdoor sports are possible year-round.
The league accepts players from Paauilo to Kailua-Kona. This season, Gold Coast is partnering with the Captain Cook-based Kona Coast Little League softball program, also sanctioned by Little League Baseball Inc., to enroll athletes from as far south as Ocean View.
The $65 registration fee covers a uniform, insurance and Little League membership. Players are responsible for buying their own helmets, and may also purchase bats if they choose.
The league does not currently have sponsors, but when the all-star team went to Oahu for the state tournament last season, de Jesus said, they held a golf tournament fundraiser to help offset the traveling costs.
This year’s all-star tournament, featuring teams from Hawaii Island and Oahu leagues, will be held at Old Kona Airport Park in July. The winning team will advance to regional competition on the mainland.
The season is slated to begin today, but it is not too late to register.
De Jesus said the league will continue to register athletes through the end of the season, if there are girls interested in playing. However, in order to qualify for post-season play, athletes must appear in 12 games.
To register or to get more information, call Neddie de Jesus at 854-1749.