Annual Girls at Bat program sees tremendous success and growth

“Our Girls at Bat program is meant to really instill a love of sport for girls, to continue in sport along into their adult lives,” added Meghan Saundercook, a Senior Manager of Programs with the Jays Care Foundation.

When the program first began four years ago, Adams says there were only three schools involved. Having been involved for all four years, Adams added it’s been fantastic to see how it personally impacts so many young girls’s confidence in themselves, on top of their baseball and sporting ability.

“The confidence I’ve seen in the girls since I’ve started the program — some of them started in grade three, now they’re in grade seven this year — their confidence has just grown and they feel comfortable playing,” Adams said.

“I like the program a lot because you can watch people grow over the years. And it’s really cool that it’s just girls sometimes, because then the girls that don’t know if they want to play sports, they can have a safe environment to start trying to play the sport,” said Grade 6 Student and member of Girls at Bat Miley Vandervoort.

Vandervoort says she’s seen incredible growth in her years in the program, as she said she didn’t even know how to throw and catch a ball but now feels quite comfortable doing so. Lily Thompson, a grade 7 student also in the program, also noticed incredible growth in her own abilities.

“When I first started the program, I didn’t really know how to bat and I didn’t really know how to throw a ball either. And now I’m one of my team’s main pitchers. And also, I’m a half decent batter,” Thompson said.

Both Thompson and Vandervoort said they want to keep playing even outside of the program, so Girls at Bat has been quite successful in getting more young girls involved in the sport. However, the program has grown so much that the Rookies Tournament has also been added. This year saw the second annual Rookies Tournament take place alongside Girls at bat, and that is a tournament open to all genders and abilities, with a similar goal of instilling a love of baseball and sports.

“For the rookies, they really like it because it’s inclusive of all students and all abilities. So we just modify the game so that everyone can participate and have fun,” Adams said.

“We really try to instill things like belonging and connection in these programs, so that kids feel like they have a place on the team,” Saundercook added.

The success of the program means it will be returning, and Adams hopes to see it grow even beyond just elementary school.

“I’m hoping the high schools will jump on it, especially for girls in grade eight and nine, if they don’t stay in sport by then, it’s really a way to keep them engaged as they go through high school,” Adams said.

With plenty of smiles, cheering, and energy, there’s no doubt that all involved considered the annual Girls at Bat program a homerun.

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by Tommy Osborne

Annual Girls at Bat program sees tremendous success and growth

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