March 2011

Dear Players, Coaches and Parents,

   Please allow me to again take this opportunity to welcome you to another season of Billerica Girls Softball. This year, the BGSA consists of over 500 players, 40 teams, 120 Coaches, 16 Board Members, several Associate Board Members, many volunteer parents and a crew of Umpires all working to fulfill our Mission Statement which is for girls to “Learn the game, make new friends, and have fun.” These three principles have been the basis of Billerica Girls Softball for the last 35 years.

   This year, we honor the service of Mike and Gail O’Brien.  Many of you know Gail as the Senior League Commissioner and many of you have had Mike as an umpire.  Little did Mike and Gail know that when 8-year old Jennifer O’Brien brought a registration form home from school they would be embarking on a 32 year run that would see them serve the girls of Billerica as coaches, umpires and in numerous positions on the Board of Directors.   Mike and Gail will continue to be around, both serving on the Scholarship Committee and Mike continuing to umpire.  If you see them around please give them a great big “Thank you!”  Speaking of thank you’s, I’d like to take this opportunity to say “Thank you!” to all our volunteers listed above without whose efforts this league would not be possible.  In these tough economic times there may not be many good investments around but one great investment that will always pay off is the countless hours of effort and leadership by example that these volunteers put in each year.   We say that they are teaching girls the game of softball but what they are really doing is teaching young ladies to become adults. By their instruction and example, they are teaching them how to win, how to lose, how to play fair, grace under pressure and a whole slew of other skills they will need later in life. When you look at it that way it is an incredible responsibility but one they take on willingly.  The great thing is they are able to pass on these life lessons in a safe, supervised environment.   As many of you have heard me say, “Years from now these girls won’t remember whether they finished 5-10 or 10-5.  What they will remember is they played softball and their Dad/Mom/Aunt/Uncle/Neighbor/Somebody Significant coached/umped/cheered them”. And, guess where many of those girls will be 20 or 30 years from now?  They will be on the sidelines coaching/umpiring/cheering their own kids, whether it be at softball, baseball, soccer, etc.  Why, because that is the example they learned from.  For the rest of the girls, their coaches will be remembered for the rest of their lives too, the experiences the coaches gave them will be something they will always remember, even if it is the trip after the game for ice cream.  Of course that’s the public image of coaching we like to project. The real reason they all do what they do is where else would one be able to teach, instruct and even kid, tease and just plain have fun with a bunch of super girls?

    I’d also like to take this opportunity to point out some of the accomplishments of the league during the past few years.  In 2007, the League switched to an online registration system.  This season, over 95% of participants registered online.  In 2008, the league rebuilt Locke 1, installing new fences, benches, dugouts and stands.  In 2009, we redid the infield at 5 fields and we installed Polycap fence protection at 3 fields.  We moved to a new photo vendor and streamlined the photo process, giving parents the photo selection they have been asking for for many years.  We also stopped renting an expensive storage unit and replaced it with a storage container at Lampson.  It’s hard to make a storage container look good but that crew managed to pull it off.  This change will pay for itself in less than 2 years.  We teamed up with Connector Batting Cages in Lowell to offer discounted cage rental and lessons during the winter months.  We’ve almost completely eliminated the need for volunteer umpires and have gone to paid umpires in the 3 older leagues.  Last year, less than 5 games total were without a paid umpire.  In 2010, we eliminated printing over 500 copies of the rules and instead put the rules online and printed them in a new Coach’s Scorebook, saving mountains of paper.  Also in 2010, we replaced the backstop, added benches and replaced the infield at the High School.  Lastly, this year we’ve tweaked the rules to ensure every girl equal playing time and because of weather issues last year, we have decided to move the Instructional League Field Day to the covered Pavilion behind the Elks Club.

   We ask that all parents, family, friends and fans enthusiastically support the efforts of ALL players as they develop their softball skills and have fun.  Cheering for each and every girl’s efforts would be an appropriate way to demonstrate your recognition and support the mission of the BGSA. Positive reinforcement is always a game-winner.

All Junior, Middle, and Senior League teams are eligible for the play-offs. Following the regular season game schedule, teams will be seeded and the play-offs will immediately begin to determine each league's Town Champion.

The BGSA “book” and web-site http://www.billericagirlssoftball.com have all the information needed to keep you well informed about league schedules, activities, weather & cancellations, etc.  I hope you will take a moment of your time to become familiar with both and the information provided.  Please don't hesitate to bring any concerns, comments or suggestions to improve the BGSA to any coach, Board Member, or myself.  Let's “play ball” and have another great year!