Hampden and Wilbraham softball celebrates first ever Opening Day


Aimee Jolicoeur (age 10) works on her swing in the batting cage. Reminder Publications photo by George Skovera

May 10, 2010

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor

WILBRAHAM -- Baseball season is synonymous with spring but so is softball season.

That's why, for the first time, the U10, U12 and U14 softball teams of Hampden and Wilbraham came together on May 1 to celebrate the sport's Opening Day.

Jeff Barrillaro, a Wilbraham coach, said nearly 130 people came out for the event, which took place at the playing fields at Minnechaug Regional High School and supported girls playing softball this spring.

"We received all positive feedback from the kids, the parents, the coaches. The Minnechaug softball team was out there as well, hosting clinics and supporting us," Barrillaro said of the inaugural event. "It was great working with other coaches. It's rare for all of us to get together like that. The event was definitely a first and we hope to make it an annual thing."

"It was a nice way to start my first year," eighth grader Alex Weiss said of Opening Day. She just started playing softball this year. "We got to spend a lot of time with the other teams and meet the high school girls and coaches."

Katie Patterson, an eighth grader in her fourth year of play, added that it was a good opportunity for high school softball coach Rob Baroni to see them play.

It was also an event that presented an equal opportunity. "It's important the girls should have the same thing as the boys," Rachel Breton, a seventh grader in her fourth year of play, said of the Opening Day ceremonies.

Weiss invited the entire community to come to softball games during the season, which runs through late June.

"I think more people should get more involved in softball," she said. "It's a great sport. You get to be outside and have fun."

Barrillaro agreed. He's been coaching youth softball for eight years and he said he's seen it grow in that time.

"We want to keep that momentum going," he said.

More information is available online at www.wilbraham-ma.gov/rec and at www.hampdenrec.com/softball.php.

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