Our local Wilshire Girls Softball team has some great news to share…and a big request.
First, the news:  the organization’s 12-and-under (12U) team came in 4th place at the recent state-level tournament – the only Los Angeles team to place there (suburbs heavily dominate).  And, even better, based on the “awesome” performance at the state level, the team qualified for regionals at the Cal State Games in San Diego, from July 15-17th.  According to Tara Kelly, wife of team manager Adam Glickman, and mom of team member Kaia Glickman, the Cal State Games are like a “junior olympics” — with 22 sports, 12,000+ athletes, and opening ceremonies at Qualcomm Stadium (the site of previous Superbowls).  “Pretty cool!” says Kelly (and we have to agree).
Says Adam Glickman, “This is the first time in the 13-year history of the league that a Wilshire all-star team 12 and under has qualified for Regionals, after stellar finishes at States (4th) and Districts (2nd).”  (He also notes that Wilshire’s younger team, for players 8 and under, took third place at the district level this year, and participated – for the first time – in the state tournament, where they won two games before being eliminated.)
But now comes the request.
As it turns out, the Cal State Games trip may be in jeopardy for the 12U players.
“We were all SO excited,” said Kelly in an e-mail to the Buzz and other neighbors yesterday, “until we realized how expensive it is. Most of our players…qualify for scholarships with the league. So unless we can raise a lot of money, really quickly, the girls are NOT going to regionals. And that would suck. We’re a prime example of the disparity in advanced sports competition for kids these days — “pay to play” is the norm, sadly, leaving out so many kids who have talent and deserve to play.”
Kelly said the cost will be about $500/player for registration, trading pins (a big part of the cross-team fun), opening ceremonies tickets, and (not-so-cheap) hotel rooms for two nights. So they need to raise about $6,000…very quickly. “Some of our families couldn’t afford a motel at States last weekend,” said Kelly, “and drove back and forth each day.  One night they got about 5 hours of sleep. Ugh. San Diego is too far to make that an option.”
So the team has set up a GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/gowilshire, where contributions of any size would be appreciated. (Note that Wilshire Girls Softball is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization, so donations are tax-deductible.)  Kelly said the team would also be happy to put a donor’s brand on the girls’ jerseys, bags, foreheads, or “whatever” if a your business would like to sponsor the whole trip.
“Please pitch in!!” asks Kelly.  “And if you plan to be in San Diego that weekend and want to come to a game, let us know.”
It would be a great way to see and support our local team in action as they close out one season and get ready for the next — fall season starts in August, and registration is now open at http://WilshireSoftball.com.
Go Wilshire!!!