It’s time to dust off the glove — Mills students are starting a softball club.
“I bet there are girls secretly hiding in their closets with their gloves just waiting to play,” said the club initiator Kat Hall.
Hall has created a softball club that will meet every week starting this Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Toyon Meadow. Since creating a team requires funding from Mills’ Department of Athletics, Physical Education & Recreation (APER), Hall, 22, was interested in starting a club first in order to stir some softball interest.
“We just want to get together and throw the ball around,” said the senior.
APER said they were in full support of the softball club.
“I feel really excited about the softball club,” said Sports Information and Compliance Director Elese Lebsack. “We’ve definitely had interest in softball in the past.”
According to Hall, all abilities are welcome.
“Anyone can play softball,” Hall said.
Lebsack agreed that the club would give everyone a chance to play ball.
“I feel really excited about people being able to participate at all levels,” Lebsack said.
Worried about committing? Being a club, the softball schedule will be flexible, unlike joining a full-fledged team.
“One thing about softball is it’s such a competitive sport that when you go to school to play, you’re there to play,” said softball club member Aisha Gonzalez, 19.
Still, despite a part-time schedule, Hall said members could reap benefits similar to being on a full-time team.
“With softball, you have to take care of yourself and take care of your team,” Hall said.
The softball club could eventually evolve into a team, although funding would be one of the main hurdles. The sport requires a variety of equipment including gloves, balls, bats, helmets, uniforms and knee pads, not to mention a softball diamond for practice and games.
“If we were to have an official intercollegiate team, we’d have to have facilities,” Lebsack said. “I’d like to be able to have something in the future, but we’ll see. It’s a matter of space and money, but luckily we have a lot of space for a softball club.”
For the time being, though, the softball club will be a time for students to bring their own gloves and throw some ball.
“The idea is to just get softball going at Mills,” Hall said.
