Softball team donates equipment to British girls

Blue Hen softball team members prepare to ship their used equipment as a donation to fast-pitch softball programs for girls under 13 in Great Britain.

2 p.m., Dec. 14, 2004--Jennifer Joseph, a senior biological sciences major, and her teammates on the Blue Hen softball team have collected used softball equipment to donate to fast-pitch softball programs for girls under 13 in Great Britain.

Among the groups that will receive the equipment are the Under-13 Grass Roots Girls Program, the Under-13 School of Excellence Team and the Under-13 Great Britain National Team.

Joseph, the number two pitcher in the Delaware rotation, spent last summer in the United Kingdom working with the Baseball/Softball United Kingdom's (BSUK) Fast-pitch Development Program. She said the equipment will nurture the development of fast-pitch softball overseas.

Her summer in the UK was sponsored by the BSUK's Import Pitcher Program. Part of Joseph's work there was to coach in the Grass Roots Program, pitch for teams in the Women's Fast-pitch League and help improve the standards of fast-pitch softball in the UK.

“Every year, my softball team at the University of Delaware does a service project,” Joseph said. “This year, while cleaning out my basement, I found tons of softball equipment that I no longer use. I immediately thought of the girls in England and how much of an impact they had on me this summer and realized how much they would appreciate and benefit from this equipment.”

Joseph approached her teammates and coaches with the idea of sending equipment to England. “They absolutely loved it!” Joseph said.

“We collected our equipment while home for the Thanksgiving holiday,” Jennifer said. “Hopefully, it will arrive in Great Britain by mid-January. As collegiate athletes and coaches, we understand the hard work and dedication that becoming an elite athlete requires. It is our hope that this equipment will help girls in training to reach their highest potential as they work towards the ultimate goal of competing in the 2012 Olympics.”

University of Delaware softball team players who helped include Kelsey Knapp, sophomore; Kathleen Lee, freshman; Lindsay Jones, sophomore; Jessica Ralston, freshman; Heather Wrenn, junior; Erin Stough, freshman; Kimberly Williams, freshman; Kelley Pastic, senior; Barbara Traynor, freshman; Lauren Gardner, senior; Michelle Plant, sophomore; Natalie Savona, freshman; Randi Isaacs, senior; Melissa Morris, sophomore; Jenny Gilkins, senior; Allison Borchers, freshman; and Carolynn Sloat, sophomore.

Head coach Bonnie J. Ferguson, assistant coach Lisa Myers, volunteer assistant coach Kimberly Hudson and student coach Laurie Erickson, a senior, also helped.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photo by Kevin Tucker

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