A brighter future?

The future of softball at Laguna Beach High could be looking brighter.

Laguna senior and former softball player Jami Andrews said the turnout at her March 2 softball clinic at El Morro Elementary was successful in getting girls excited about the sport and wanting to play at the high school level.

Andrews said the diminishing number of girls at her school’s tryouts this year, which prevented them from fielding a 2008 softball team, was her inspiration for holding the clinic.

An event like this was part of her duty in earning the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest attainable award.

“It was disheartening to learn that there was no softball team this year, because I had a lot of fun playing softball throughout high school,” she said. “The lack of interest arises from the small number of programs available to girls in Laguna Beach, so I wanted to make a difference there.”

Andrews held the 3 1/2 -hour event with the help of her father and former Laguna softball coach, Douglas Andrews, and Lori Stanton, the Laguna Beach Commissioner of Softball.

Twenty-five girls, between third and eighth grades, showed up either eager to learn the game or to improve their skills.

“Half the girls had never played softball before,” Andrews said. “The other half were very experienced, having played for three to five years already.”

The girls were broken up into two groups based on experience. Stanton coached the avid players on grounders, base running, outfield, infield and batting drills. Andrews broke in the novices.

“I provided the girls with snacks and drinks, and got to award prizes to every girl for doing something good during the lessons,” Andrew said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Through the clinic, Andrews said she hoped to inspire young girls to continue playing softball so they would want to join the team once they reached high school.

“At the end of the day, all of the girls said they had a great time at the clinic and they were going to continue to play softball,” she said.

At Laguna, Andrews earned JV Rookie of the Year in 2005, JV Offensive MVP in 2006, and in 2007, she was the varsity Most Improved Player.

Although in recent years, the Breakers failed to field either a junior varsity or varsity softball team, this is the first year there was no team at either level. Laguna Beach struggled to compete at the varsity level from 2004 to 2007, going just 6-50 (according to records posted on MaxPreps) before failing to field a team this year.

Andrews attributes the lack of preparation and the sport’s reputation to the struggles.

“Softball became a way for students to easily get credit for playing a sport, so they did not have to take PE,” she said. “And, the coaching style was less stringent so girls didn’t take the practices or games seriously.”

With the positive feedback that Andrews and her helpers received after the clinic, she hopes this was a positive step forward in making softball more popular in Laguna Beach.