Little League Softball Teams Rally Nationwide to Fund World Series Dreams
It is the time of year when everyone gets excited to watch the Little League Softball World Series. The broadcasters will entertain us by sharing fun facts about their players, those who coach them, and we open our living rooms up to the best part of youth sports.
However, it may be less well-known that the effort and commitment required to play in the Little League Softball World Series tournament involve teams having to fundraise and get creative to raise the necessary capital.
For the Guilford, Conn., All-Stars, their softball team created a GoFundMe to seek assistance from their community, both far and wide.
Andrea Klein, one of the team's coaches, said it had garnered over $18,000 as of Wednesday. Klein noted that the families of the players took time off from work to travel to North Carolina for the World Series, and the money raised helps offset those expenses.
This team was catapulted into the limelight after the team secured the regional win with a 1-0 victory, which included a no-hitter, to take them to Greenville, N.C.
Other Examples
Similarly, Broken Arrow Softball out of Tulsa, Okla., won its regional but needed assistance with the travel to North Carolina. The team set up a GoFundMe just like Guilford, but has only asked for $3,500 to support the travel, lodging, and meals.
However, the GoFundMe goal amount is set for $9,000. Currently the team has raised just over $6,800, which includes a $1,500 donation from an anonymous donor.
Mill Creek Softball out of Washington staged a dramatic comeback to win the Northwest Region over a team from Oregon in a 10-9 slugfest. This will be the first Little League Softball World Series appearance for the team, which came close but lost in the West Region championship in 2017.
Mill Creek, like Guilford and Broken Arrow, has turned to the internet on Zeffy and the kindness of strangers to provide their travel expenses.
Mill Creek will open its Little League World Series play on Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. EST against Broken Arrow. Guilford Softball, representing the New England Region, will play its first matchup on Aug. 3 at 7 pm against West Suburban Little League out of Johnstown, Penn., representing the Mid-Atlantic Region.
The games for the Little League Softball World Series can be found on ESPN's family of networks.
Allison Smith is an expert in leadership and organizational behavior in collegiate and professional women’s sports. Smith is a professor (Georgia State University), researcher, and writer. Smith holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in Kinesiology and Sport Studies. Smith’s research centers on combatting the underrepresentation of women leaders in sport, lack of organizational structure for work life integration for sport employees, and lack of programming and oversight for preparing athletes to transition to life after sport. Since graduating with a bachelor’s in journalism in 2011, Smith has sought opportunities to write about sports as a contributing writer focused on the growth of women’s collegiate, Olympic, and professional sports in this new age and movement for multiple outlets including Athletic Director U, and now Forbes.com. As a former Division I and II pitcher and Division III pitching coach Smith will bring unique insight and expertise to Softball on SI.
Follow allisonbsmith15