In our last edition, the Englewood REVIEW focused on men’s softball. This week, it’s the women’s turn. We caught up with Kelly Williams, the director of the Englewood Adult Softball League. Kelly is in charge of this nonprofit and makes sure they do more than just play ball. The league works hard to bring people together and supports local youth programs. Just recently, they raised $2,200 for the Miss Englewood Stingrays. Supporting the community isn’t just a side note; it’s central to their mission.
ER: How did you get your start in softball?
Kelly: I never played it before. I had no desire to play sports at all. On a whim, I went to a softball game, and they were always struggling to get girls on Co-ed. And I was like, “I’ll give it a try.” That’s all it took. I fell in love with the sport, and here I am running a league.
ER: How old were you when that happened?
Kelly: Let’s see, I probably was like thirty-two, thirty-three.
ER: That’s really inspirational, because I think a lot of women will ask, “Well, is this something that beginners can join? Are we welcome?” So it’s good to know that beginners are welcome in the league.
Kelly: Absolutely. I have a girl on my Co-ed team, who has never played softball. I joke with her because she’s twenty. So I’m like, “You’re really growing up these seasons.” And she loves it.
ER: When did the organization start?
Kelly: Actually, there were a couple of previous people who ran the league. Then COVID happened, and we slowly came back for a bit, but not enough teams were signing up.
I also play in the senior women’s league, which is thirty-five and up. I decided, “You know what? The field’s always closed in the summer, but I don’t want to lose my skills when I relax.” So I decided I’m going to play over the summer. They put together a little league for the summer and I thought, “I really need to get Englewood back up and running. It’s close. We’ll do it differently this time.” Our Co-ed and Women’s is a draft league. Everybody gets to play. No matter what. You’re never going to not be able to play just because you don’t know anybody.
I started working on it in July and August. I had my first successful season in September with just Co-ed. And we had five teams. And I would say probably ninety percent of the people who came out there never played on those fields before.
I brought in five teams and all these new faces. People made instant friendships. It’s like a huge family out there; it’s crazy how we all connected. So then the county closed the fields in November, so we came back in January. And I could have Co-ed, Women’s, and Men’s.
ER: Break it down for our readers, the number of teams you have.
Kelly: We’ve got six teams for Co-ed, and then four teams for Men. And it has been so much fun out there. You can choose any night you would like to play. And no matter what, you’re going to play.
I decided before I even did this league; I wanted to make it into a non-profit. So we as adults can be mentors to our younger athletes. After you leave high school, maybe you will not go off to college and play. Maybe, you know, you don’t want to go to some university. But you can still continue to play the sport you love. But also, we want to give back. So, over the weekend, I did a two-day tournament. It was Co-ed on Saturday; Men’s was on Sunday. Six teams Saturday, five teams Sunday. And we raised $2,200 to give back to youth softball.
ER: To Miss Englewood Stingrays, right?
Kelly: Yes. Correct.
ER: That’s such a powerful mission.
Kelly: I try to do little things like that. I will collect items to donate to them. I’ll go out to the thrift stores and find items to donate to them. Whatever they need. Because my daughter, she’s twelve. So she plays, she just started playing fast-pitch. She’s been playing baseball.
ER: That’s terrific. What is your message for our readers or anyone interested in participating?
Kelly: Don’t be afraid to come out and play. I know it’s nerve-wracking to meet new people sometimes and play something that you’ve never played, but we’re all out there to have fun.
We’re out there to teach you the game. We have a lot of different skill levels. I mean, we have people that are eighteen out there to seventy. And we’ve got father and son, we’ve got father and daughter, we’ve got mom and daughter. I mean, it is a huge family and don’t be afraid to come out there because you don’t know anybody. We are all welcoming. We will teach you. We will guide you. We’ll make you better at the sport. You don’t have to be nervous with us. We just go out there, have fun, raise money for the kids, and still we’re able to go out and have fun and get exercise and just play.
ER: Thank you for your hard work for the community, and we’re proud to share your story, Kelly.
Kelly: Thank you!
For information go to https://sportsplus.app/public/6518/schedule or check out their Facebook page Englewood Adult Softball League, Inc.
