Girls Slow Pitch Softball Overview
NHAA offers girls slow pitch softball for ages 5 through 18. Teams are formed for the Instructional, 10U, 12U, 15U, and 18U age divisions. The number of teams in each age division is a function of the number of players who sign up. In 2006 NHAA had 14 teams in the four youngest age divisions. NHAA did not have a team in the 18U Division in 2006. Should enough girls register for 18U Division, NHAA would form a team. Should there not be enough girls who sign up in any age group to form at least one team, NHAA will make arrangements with other local athletic associations that sponsor slow pitch teams, where their rosters would be combined with ours to form a team. This insures that any girl desiring to play slow pitch softball will have a team to play on, regardless of which association she initially registers.
The NHAA slow pitch Instructional Division is an in-house league where the teams formed play games only against other NHAA teams. This limits the travel for these younger players and affords more control over instruction, rules, and scheduling.
The NHAA slow pitch teams in the 10U, 12U, 15U and 18U age divisions participate in the Greater Pittsburgh Girls Softball League (GPGSL) http://eteamz.active.com/gpgsl/. The GPGSL brings together girls softball teams from athletic associations throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. The GPGSL tries to group together teams of similar geographic areas to schedule regular season games.
Slow pitch softball is offered during the Spring and Fall seasons. Typically more players sign-up to play in the Spring than in the Fall. The Fall season is shorter in duration and in the younger age divisions more attention is paid to individualized instruction. The Fall season affords a good opportunity for girls who qualified as 8 years olds in the Spring to play in the 10U Division in the Fall. This will allow an early introduction for these girls to batting against higher arc pitching and from fellow players instead of coaches. For the older girls, opportunities for Fall slow pitch softball have been limited. Efforts are under way by the Western PA High School Slow Pitch Boosters Organization and the GPGSL to organize Fall slow pitch softball for older girls and potentially introduce slow pitch softball as a club sport at the high school level.
Practices for Spring slow pitch softball begins in the gym near the end of March and continues outdoors in early April. The regular season starts the third week in April and runs through the third week of June. The season for the Instructional Division starts slightly later and concludes about the same time as for the older divisions. During the Spring season, typically one game is scheduled during the week and one on Saturday. Make-up games may be scheduled any day including Sundays. At the conclusion of the regular season, qualifying teams participate in the GPGSL playoffs. In 2006, for the first time, all GPGSL slow pitch teams qualified for the playoffs in a two-tiered format.
Following the conclusion of the Spring regular season and playoffs, NHAA will sponsor tournament teams in each age division depending on the level of interest. For additional information, see the Tournament Team Overview below.
The Fall slow pitch softball games start the first weekend after Labor Day and concludes the final weekend of October. The Fall regular season games are scheduled for Saturdays with make-up games typically scheduled for Sundays. No playoffs are scheduled at the conclusion of the Fall season.
The team’s practices and home games will be played at a NHAA field designated for each age division. The team’s away games (except for the Instructional Division) will be played at a GPGSL member team’s field. This will require some travel within the northern portion of the Pittsburgh area during the Spring season and possibly further travel throughout southwestern Pa in the Fall.
The NHAA slow pitch softball program is an opportunity for girls to learn and play softball in a fun and not too competitive atmosphere. More competitive girls who want to eventually participate on their school district teams beginning in 7th grade should consider playing fast pitch softball.
For more detailed information about NHAA slow pitch softball, please contact our slow pitch softball commissioner
Lou Saban at 412-951-5263.