News Brief: Softball Open Gyms

Softball open gyms are open to sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Although sixth grade students are welcome to come to open gyms, they are not able to tryout for the team until they are in seventh grade.

Open gyms occur on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-8:30 pm. They are located at W&J and when entering use the loading dock doors on fourth Street. If you are interested in learning to pitch or catch or you already do, pitchers and catchers are on Saturdays from 11:30-12:45 pm at W&J.

Students should dress in athletic clothes and sneakers. You should also bring all of your softball gear and a drink if you want one.

Students able to do a lot of things at open gyms!

“At open gyms, we begin by stretching then move into hitting stations. We set up five different stations to work on different hitting drills, such as soft toss, bunting and tee drills. We also set up the pitching machine in the batting cage. Girls are able to rotate through the stations in small groups to get lots of swings. For the second half of the open gym, we work on throwing and fielding and usually end with a fielding competition,” said Junior High Softball coach Alyssa Fasolo.

There are many reasons that open gyms are held and there are many benefits of going to them.

Fasolo said, “The goal of open gyms is to give all junior high girls who are interested in playing softball a chance to come work on their skills in the off season. We are able to improve our junior high team by giving the players an opportunity to practice before the season begins. Having open gyms gives us a head start once the season begins because many of our players have been showing up and putting in lots of hard work. This helps tryouts and practices to run more smoothly. We hope that by holding open gyms in the off season, we will build an interest in our junior high program and help potential players develop their softball skills.”

If girls are interested in trying out for the team and they have not already played a sport this school year they need to attend spring physicals February 23 at 3 p.m. at the Altoona Area Junior High School.

If you are interested in coming please contact Coach Alyssa Fasolo at [email protected] to get information on how to join the Remind group or if you have any other questions. Dates and times are able to change due to conflict or us not having school, so please listen to the announcements and check the Remind app.

Girls who would like to try softball or want to tryout for the team are encouraged to come!