East Gippsland Softball

Re-igniting Softball in Regional Victoria

Do you remember when there were thriving Softball competitions in regional communities? Thanks to VicHealth’s Future Healthy initiative, we’re bringing it back!

This is an exciting journey which began with some local Softball fanatics wanting to see Softball up and running in their hometown of Bairnsdale.  We are now making great progress and have recently secured a place to play: West Bairnsdale Oval. 

LET’S GET THE EVERYONE OFF THEIR DEVICES AND ONTO THE DIAMOND!

East Gippsland Softball is the first success story of Softball Victoria's partnership with VicHealth and the Future Healthy initiative, but it would not be possible without the passionate and dedicated volunteers of the East Gippsland community. 

In August 2022, our Participation Coordinator's regional Softball roadshow was welcomed by four local schools (Bruthen, Nicholson, Metung and Paynesville), which generated enough interest for a Homerun Heroes program to kick off in November.

Homerun Heroes is an introductory Softball program for kids aged 4 to 10, but East Gipplsand had older kids and many parents get on board too!

From here, an incredible team of volunteers started to grow, lead by Lakes Entrance duo, Shannon and Dave. Thanks to these two and local journalist (and committee member) Analee, Softball was making headlines and East Gippsland Softball reached 66 members before the end of 2022 - a significant effort! 

People like Jake, Ashlee & Sheryn who grew up playing Softball (but had been without the game for many years) soon found their mojo and naturally evolved as coaches, four teams created a youth/adult league with a casual round-robin competition played on Saturday mornings at West Bairnsdale Oval. 

Their next program starts at the beginning of February, once again providing something for 4 year olds all the way up to adults. 

The best way to stay up to date is to follow their FACEBOOK page, which has regular updates and fabulous photos, or visit their WEBSITE and register to play! 

GET IN TOUCH

If you’d like to get on board with East Gippsland Softball and become a founding member or volunteer, please email Shannan at eastgippslandsoftball@gmail.com

We’d love your online support so please follow any of the following Facebook pages and groups: East Gippsland Softball and East Gippsland Softball Community Group

CHECK OUT THE EAST GIPPSLAND SOFTBALL WEBSITE 

WILL YOUR COMMUNITY BE NEXT? 

Thanks to VicHealth's Future Healthy initiative, Softball Victoria is bringing Softball to regional Victoria: 

We think Softball is the most FUN sport to play and want to see kids smashing home runs across the State!  

Our project in regional Victoria begins with our passionate Participation Coordinators delivering a school roadshow in 2023.

From there, Softball activities will be set up in the community for kids and their families to get involved in, and over the next 12 months there will be a range of options in place, for young & old!

We’re covering all bases:

• Home Run Heroes – Sidekicks programs for kids aged 4-7 & a Superheroes T-ball programs for kids aged 7–10-year-olds looking for an entry level program
• U14 competition for the 10–14-year-old group
• Social7s competition for 15+ Youth and adults in your community

Sidekicks and Superheroes are designed for kids of all ages and abilities, whether they already play sport or have not yet found their ‘thing.’ Home Run Heroes is strongly aligned with the SportAus Playing for Life Philosophy, whereby participants are engaged in fun game sense activities with the aim of developing a life-long love of sport.

Let’s get kids off the couch, off their devices, off the streets, and ONTO THE DIAMOND!   

As well as growing grassroots community sport, we aim to engage at risk or vulnerable youth, Indigenous and CALD communities and increase participation in the significant percentage of kids that currently do not play any sport. The project will be community lead, allowing young leaders to emerge and take ownership to ensure we provide what the community wants.

To assist us in identifying members of the local communities who are as passionate as we are about driving sport participation, are passionate about Softball (a bonus but not essential), and would love to get involved in our project, please complete this FORM to help us get to first base!

Why Softball?

• can be played by all ages and abilities
• well-rounded skill development including striking, throwing, catching, fielding, and running
• promotes strategic thinking, individual achievement, and teamwork
• modifications enable it to suit the participants and environment

What will Softball Victoria bring to the field?

We’re providing everything required to create successful and sustainable Softball communities:

• Training & Education – free training and accreditations for coaching, umpiring, scoring, and administration.
• Equipment & facilities – the necessary tools required to create a sustainable Softball competition, including equipment and basic infrastructure.
• Supporting Resources – Softball Victoria will provide a solid knowledge base for a strong Softball community to be built and maintained in these areas. There are currently 15 Associations full of dedicated administrators who want to see more Softball being played across the state. We have identified numerous experienced volunteers who will assist Softball Victoria in provide mentoring and guidance for newly formed Associations in regional Victoria.
• Athlete Pathways – both the Shepparton and Bairnsdale communities have a long list of athletes who played Softball at a state or national representative levels, and we would love for this to be the case once again. Our high-performance pathways mean talented and driven Softball players are provided with excellent opportunities to take their game to Olympic level and even though the goal of this project is grassroots participation, talent identification is always on the radar.

Be part of our history-making project - “Regional Youth Communities Connection through Softball” and set kids on the right path!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT RE-IGNITING REGIONAL SOFTBALL

Please contact Jo Schutt on 0425 785 161 or jo.schutt@softball.org.au,

The Big Connect is part of VicHealth’s ground-breaking Future Healthy initiative, supporting the mental wellbeing of our young people, by creating opportunities for them to reconnect with their friends, families and communities in ways that work for them. More information can be found here: https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/funding/the-big-connect