This year, BMU has not been able to field a Little League Majors softball team, forcing the girls to combine with Haverhill. This is a dramatic shift from the past, when they regularly had at least one team.
The loss of the Major League team has left parents and the community concerned for the future of BMU’s softball program. BMU’s Varsity Softball Coach, Michael Murray, emphasized, “After coaching Little League softball and baseball for so long and having great numbers all those years, it saddens me to hear that… so many girls are [not] playing softball.” BMU’s Varsity Pitching and Catching Coach Ashley Kennedy explains, “as a former softball athlete at BMU, it definitely sits heavy on my heart… I am hoping it was just an off year for numbers and we can have a Majors team next year!”
BMU is a part of the Connecticut Valley Little League (CVLL) along with Newbury, Bradford, Piermont, Rivendell, Bath, and Topsham/Corinth. While each team aims to provide their players with a Major League experience in their own town, it is very common for teams to struggle pulling together enough girls to have a team. Fortunately, CVLL sign-ups begin in March, followed by a board meeting with representatives from every team to review the number of players each team has. When teams are unable to bring enough girls into their program, they have the option to “farm” players to surrounding towns that are included in their league and allow their players to play for other teams.
This year, BMU had six girls sign up to play for BMU, and Haverhill was able to put together two teams with nine girls on each. In cases like this, CVLL problem solves to make the easiest combination of teams; this led to BMU and Haverhill combining teams. Since Haverhill has two teams, the players traveling from BMU were separated, with four girls playing on Haverhill’s Haverhill Diamonds team and two playing on the Haverhill Hawkeyes team.
Combining with other schools is just one of the solutions BMU has implemented in an effort to increase youth participation. Michael Murray is working with the varsity BMU softball players to mentor youth and encourage participation for further years. Murray explains, “in my mind there is no better way to gain excitement in our program but to reach out to our Little League softball players and mentor them, get them excited about playing and working with our varsity girls.” With efforts from the varsity players, BMU’s community remains hopeful for growth in the program for future years.
