JPRD You Know :: 16U Softball Wins World Champion Title
Last year, I wrote about our journey playing softball, and even playing travel ball. The girls played again this year, and it is hard to imagine life without the awesome sport that is softball. Over the last few months teams from all over the world – yes, that’s right, the world – have been competing to represent their state, region or even country to claim the title of World Champion in Florence, AL.
In this league, it’s all about the playground, the rec league.
The journey for the opportunity to play in the World Championship is a long one. We played at our playground to qualify for All-Stars. Speaking of, the experience we just had is the very reason that as parents we cannot forget about or let playground sports die! From the point of qualifying to play as an “All Star,” the All-Star teams competed at the state tournament in St Charles Parish. In order to move on, you have to win State. In some cases, it came down to Eastbank versus Westbank, meaning two talented teams from right here in the metro area were battling it out. After the state tournament, you move into Regionals. Because we had teams that won World last year we could bypass Regionals. Our Regionals took place in Texas this year. From there, it was onto World!
JPRD You Know
In our immediate area, Jefferson Parish was represented by 8u, 10u, 12u, 14u, 16u & 18u. Of those teams, pulling out the win were the 14u and 16u Eastbank teams, as well as the 12u Westbank team! That is THREE world titles right here in our backyard. These softball girls played in the scorching heat and long into the summer months. On one day, they even played in the rain. The games did not disappoint! Playing teams from Australia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands and cities from all across the United States was truly amazing! Set against the backdrop of the Olympics, this is a pretty darn cool time to be a sports parents getting the opportunity to compete with international teams.
There were many, many highlights but one that stuck out was the 10u JPRD Eastbank team sitting in the stands cheering their hearts out for their 16u JPRD Eastbank teammates. Their sportsmanship was heartwarming to witness, so much so that even umpires commented on the Babe Ruth Organization Facebook page! If these young softball girls are a sneak peek of what’s to come, look out because they definitely have the heart to take it all next year!
Hats off to the Babe Ruth Organization for putting on a top notch tournament that spanned 8 days of playing and having fun. It’s wonderful to see the support of fans across the world and highlighting the great achievements of these young girls! The love of game was evident in the smiles, and in some cases tears.
