“Your net should be covering these gaps,” the umpire said before a home game early in the season. Looking up at the backstop net for the softball field, which was covered in moss and lichen, the fibers fraying, I felt as though the gaps were the least of the problems.
I have been playing softball since third grade, and have been on varsity at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes since freshman year. The Saints softball program is special, and I feel a connection to this team more than any other softball team I have been a part of. Last year our team became so close that on Father’s Day we had a team barbeque and dad-against-daughter game. While the composition of the team is much different this year, the magic of the program is still present.
No matter how great the people on the team are, for as long as I have been in the program there have been several issues with the field. The softball field is in the very back corner of the campus, and while it is the only place for the field to go, it still makes driving up interest in our games very difficult. I have talked to people who didn’t even know that we had a softball field. Alongside the location, the overall condition of the field is often not the best.
Mia Reinke, a sophomore in her second year on varsity told me that the dugouts are “very dirty. It’s just this one bench, it’s very small, and everyone’s bags are getting in the way.” Alongside these inconveniences with the dugouts, the field condition is often poor. We frequently have severe problems with drainage.
Mia talked about how this impacted the team, saying that “the draining is horrible. I remember, for the first two and a half weeks of our season, we could not go on the field because the draining was so bad, and it was just swamped all the time.”
The sitting area for softball fans is also less than ideal. The metal bleachers are directly in the sun, uneven due to the age of the pads that they sit on, and positioned so it is very hard to see the batter. However, the field is generally well maintained, and it is very nice to not play on turf like some other schools in the area.
Our field is heavily contrasted by the brand new baseball field. It would be unfair to not mention the sacrifice made by the team in order to get this update, as they went without a field for a year. However, the new facilities seem to be worth it. Sam Brock, a senior on the baseball team, says that it is “definitely positive to have actual benches, places to put our stuff, hangers. It’s a really nice thing to have.” Sam also stated that the new covered stands for fans to watch the game on are very appreciated.
When reached for comment, Ms. Callahan, the Chief Operating Officer of SSSAS said that “softball field improvements are indeed included in our campus master plan and are on our list of future projects. That said, the timing and scope of those renovations have not yet been finalized and, like the baseball field project, will need to be supported by donor funding.”
The differences between the two fields are not the only disparities that I have noticed while on the team. It sometimes seems that our equipment is less well funded. When I asked Sam about their uniforms, he answered that they love their uniforms. He said: “We have to get our own pants, but they provide a home and away jersey, our hats, two practice shirts and a belt.”
The softball team does not get practice uniforms. Mia stated that she felt like if players needed pants, the school had good options that are provided. However she points out many issues in the jerseys. She said: “Some of us, especially the freshmen, their sizes don’t match at all [too big or too small], and some [jerseys have] completely different patterns than some of the other uniforms.”
Kaia Corens, a junior in her third year on Varsity also pointed out fundamental design flaws in our uniforms. She told me that, “None of these jerseys fit us, it feels like they weren’t really made for women.”
Other equipment is also lackluster for the softball team. We have been able to buy a few new bats which has been very nice: it is always a big deal when we get a new team bat. We have probably four or five that are at the oldest four years old. However, we also have some equipment that is falling apart. When doing a batting clinic with new players, I looked down at my hands and saw that the grip of the bat I used was disintegrating on my palms, leaving them covered in tiny bits of the black tape.
Mia shares a similar experience with the equipment saying: “We can have a great practice and be able to build on our strengths and [improve our] weaknesses. But we could definitely get some better equipment. One time Coach Heasley (Alumni ‘16) said, ‘this is the bat that I played with when I was playing,’ I was like, Oh, my God.”
Sam stated that he felt satisfied with the equipment that the baseball team has.
In her interview, Mia talked about how she felt like there was inequality between the teams. She shared a story of being faced with that inequality. She said: “I saw someone put away-I think it was JV- they had their own, electric shooter thing. The kids were asking, ‘Who hit better coach?’ It’s like, wow, they have their own little cannon thing.” She also talked about how sometimes as a softball team we go to support the baseball team, but she didn’t think she had ever seen anyone from baseball at our games. Sam confirmed this, saying that he had “been to the field, but [he] hadn’t really been able to watch a game because of baseball, but if [he] didn’t have baseball, [he] probably would go see them.”
Mia expressed that she thinks that this inequality is because of gender. She stated in her interview, “There’s more viewership and more attention towards the men’s side of sports, for example, basketball, where people watch men’s basketball and not as much women’s basketball. Everyone watches baseball and not softball. Even though they’re such similar sports. I don’t know. I don’t really feel like it could be anything else, because they’re so similar.” Sam disagrees, saying that “I don’t really think so. I think this school does a pretty good job of trying to keep things fairly even.”
I would argue that even if there isn’t intentional inequality, (or if the inequality is a result of factors like parent donations) perceived inequality can be just as harmful. It can demoralize players, and make them feel like the school does not value the program as much as the baseball team. These issues are not a reflection of the character of the baseball players or team as a whole, but instead problems within the school’s recognition of the softball team. These two similar sports should be treated equally, and all students involved should be celebrated for their accomplishments.
