By Staff
NorthSide Little League in Mishawaka, Ind., has been selected as the 2004 host of an AAU all-girls baseball magnet program for Northern Indiana and lower Michigan.
For the past two years, NorthSide has been home to the Michiana Girls Baseball program and has drawn players from northern Indiana along with Niles and Edwardsburg.
Any girls wanting to play baseball at NorthSide in 2004 can so do without affecting their standing at their home park. There are no district restrictions or boundaries for players for this program.
There will be three different age groups for the players: eight to 10 years old; 11-13 years old and 14-16 years old.
Tryouts will be held in May with practices taking place in June. The game schedule will begin in July and run through August.
Registration costs are $50 per player or $75 for two or more members from a family. This fee includes an AAU membership for the athlete. If the athlete is already an AAU member, the registration is $40 per player and $65 for two or more AAU members from a family.
Although played at NorthSide, this program is operated through AAU and is independent of Little League, Inc. The girls baseball program was created to mirror a Boys Softball option which was created by Little League in October of 2000. That particular program can be operated as an official program of Little League or it can be operated by an independent entity.
The local program has also applied for an $8,000 GoGirlsGo Grant from the Women's Sport's Foundation to help with set-up costs during the 2004 season for this magnet program. The AAU Michiana Girls Baseball program is a test model and will be used to launch a similar program throughout the United States in 2005.
For more information about the AAU Michiana Girls Baseball Program, visit www.allgirlsbaseball.com. To pre-register for the 2004 season, contact John Kovach, AAU Women's Baseball Youth Chairperson at (574) 654-7983 or by email at Knucksie1@aol.com.