This spring, a new LCSS athletic program became available for girls ages 7-12. The Lady Squires is a competitive softball program focused on skill development for future Central Catholic Lady Knights. Parents Julie Williams and Tressa Heath saw a need to provide a professionally run softball program for LCSS girls to play with others, build comradery, and benefit from experienced coaching. Williams and Heath both have young girls who attend LCSS.
“We started this as another option for our kids,” said Williams. “We were finding the rec system in its current form to have some gaps, and the girls were not getting as much skill development.”
As travel leagues become more and more prevalent, the rec leagues are suffering as there are fewer players and coaches to participate in the local rec games. Williams and Heath decided to provide a third option. Lady Squires is modeled after the boys Squires baseball team, which has been around for many years. The new program focuses on good sportsmanship, skill development, and building camaraderie between the girls at LCSS elementary schools.
“It just makes sense. All of the success that Squires has had - we would love to have that for the girls, too,” said Heath. “Additionally, this will also benefit the CC softball program by being a feeder program for them.”
Lady Squires will be “semi-travel”, with all games taking place within a drive of only a couple of hours. This first year, Lady Squires will be playing in a couple of tournaments in addition to 15-20 regular games. The program offers 3 teams: 8U, 10U, and 12U. In the future, they plan to also offer a 14 and under program as well.
“It’s been an awesome response. All of the teams are filled, and both the parents and girls are really happy and excited,” said Heath.
Additionally, as the program is for students at St. Mary, St. Boniface, and St. Lawrence, the girls get to know their counterparts at their rival LCSS elementary school. This makes the eventual matriculation to CC easier socially, while also making rivalry games between the schools more fun and enriching since the kids now know each other.
“It’s really exciting, especially at the younger age,” said Williams. “The important part is just getting the kids involved, having fun, and instilling that love of the game.”