By PAM SCHIFF
Editor’s note: This story was largely written prior to the
postponement of a wide range of sporting events – including the EGSL’s
planned starting date – in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Turning 50 is a milestone for any business or organization.
This season, it’s one being celebrated by the Edgewood Girls Softball League.
“Edgewood
softball was always about community. We were a neighborhood,” said
Coleen (Barry) Sivo, a former player and current coach.
Sivo said there had always been baseball in the neighborhood, but the softball league offered something different.
“This
was an opportunity for girls. There are still a few founding families
involved, which makes this anniversary so special,” she said.
Recalling
her experience as a player, she added: “It was local, it was in the
neighborhood. Everyone from school played. I rode my bike to practice
with friends. I played from 12 years old to my senior year at [Cranston
High School East].”
Games were always at the Park View Middle School
field, starting with girls between the ages of 12 and 17. T-ball for
younger kids was added in 1994, when Sivo’s daughter, Lindsay was 5.
“I
was excited for my girls to play. My girls were interested in playing.
The opportunity was there to join the team in the neighborhood, to play
with their friends, schoolmates. I was able to stay involved through the
girls playing. I started coaching when Lindsay was 10, in 1999, 21
years ago,” she said.
Sivo credits the league’s volunteers for its longevity.
“Rick
Davies, his daughter aged out years ago, and he has served for seven
years. There are many families that are multi-generational. Close to
10,000 girls have played at one time or another. We have players from
Pawtucket, Warwick and Central Falls. Anyone who wants to play and can
get to the field is welcome,” she said.
As Sivo reflected on her time as a player and a coach in the league, many of her memories are similar.
“Some
favorite memories of playing are that it was fun being an older player
trying to teach and help the younger players. The unity, the friendships
that have lasted since – my greatest joy as a coach is teaching the
love of the game, the importance of teamwork, supporting each other,
keeping it positive, that girls can and should support each other,” she
said.
Former players also shared their special memories.
“I was 12
years old when I learned about the Edgewood Girls Softball League.
Other than a neighborhood friend who went to try-outs with me, I did not
know any of the girls in the league. Through this league I have gained a
wonderful extended family and many lifelong friends,” said Kelly
(Stone) Britton.
She recalls the call from her new coach, Bob Lawton.
“He
told me I made the team and welcomed me to the Red Devils. At the time,
I lived near Bain Junior High School, 2½ miles from Park View. Many
days I would ride my bike to practice after school and return home
before dark. During my time with the league, we moved to Johnston,
increasing my commute,” Britton said.
She added: “I was so dedicated
to my team, and having Mr. Lawton as a coach was such a blessing. Mr.
Lawton taught me so much about softball, but more important he was so
caring and compassionate. He knew I was from a single-parent home and he
was such a positive role model. He was a great father, husband, friend
and coach. Mr. Lawton would often help me with registration fees so that
I was able to play each year.”
Britton played for the Red Devils
from 1979 through 1984. In her early years she idolized veteran players
like Barbara Lawton, Tisha Ricci and Sue Clark. She still keeps in
contact with fellow teammates Beth Lawson and Ann Maire Ryan to this
day.
“I truly enjoyed playing in the EGSL and especially under Mr.
Lawton. For a couple of years before I left for the military, I was on
the Red Devils coaching staff with the Barbara Lawton – carrying on her
dad’s legacy – and Robin Laroche. It felt great to give back to the
league that gave me so much in my impressionable years,” she said.
Julie (Whitney) Roberts also expressed her gratitude to the league. She played for the Panthers starting when she was 12.
“Edgewood
Girls Softball League means the world to me, she said. “This is a
league where I spent more than half my life. I first became involved in
the league when I was 12 years old as a player … I had so much fun
playing softball games with and against my friends. I met some amazing
coaches who cared about the league and all the players, even those
players that were not on their team.”
Roberts became an assistant
coach for the Elks in the league’s senior division at age 19. The
following year, league president Rick Roy “took a chance on me” and
named her the team’s head coach.
“I spent the next 16 years coaching
this amazing team,” she said. “Over the years I met so many players,
both those that I coached and those I didn’t. Edgewood is family.
Coaches and league members treated all of the girls within the league as
if they were their own players/daughters.”
Roberts went on to serve
the league in other capacities, including as a member of, and officer
for, its executive board. She spent part of that time as the league’s
president.
When Roberts started coaching in the league, she didn’t
have children, but she said the girls she coached became like daughters
to her.
“The league was family. Coaches hung out together, not just
at the field, but at cookouts and sometimes each other’s family
functions,” she said. “When I served as president, my goal was to build a
great league for the players and families involved. I wanted the girls
to love the league as much as I did … I knew every player’s name and
what team they played for.”
There were tough days and a lot of work
and stress involved in running the league, but Roberts said seeing the
girls playing softball with their friends – and having a blast – made it
all worth it.
“During my time there, there were also some real tough
times. We had a couple of longtime coaches pass away and then we had a
player pass away unexpectedly, Katie Lavey,” she said. “This was the
worst and hardest time for myself and the league. Having to tell these
girls that they had lost a teammate and fellow league player was the
hardest thing I have ever experienced.”
However, watching the girls
lean on each other for support and band together to help support Katie’s
family was one of the most beautiful things Robert has seen.
“This happened because Edgewood is family. Players, parents, league members and coaches are all family,” she said.
As
someone with a long history with the league, Laurie (Jennings) Lavey
saw firsthand how the members of the league’s community have rallied
around their own.
Lavey is a board member for the league. She is also
a former player, the parent of two girls – one former player and one
current player – and a coach for the T-ball and junior divisions.
“I
played in the league from approximately 1975-1980. There was only one
division in the league at the time, players were ages 12-18,” she said.
“In 1997, I returned to the league when my oldest daughter, Katie,
started playing. When she began playing the league had grown to having
three divisions of teams. I began my coaching as an assistant coach in
1998, which I continued doing until 2002. By then, I had just had my
youngest daughter and Katie moved up to seniors, so I decided to step
away from coaching. I picked up coaching again when my youngest, Kerry,
was participating in the T-ball program in 2007. I now still coach the
T-ball division and a junior division team.”
Lavey feels there are many things that make the league special.
“First
of all, that we are still thriving as we approach the beginning of our
50th season. There are not many leagues that can say that,” she said.
“Edgewood Girls Softball has remained a slow pitch recreational league
through all the years even though fast pitch has become the softball
genre of middle school, high school and college. We believe that we
still serve a large community of girls. We have a league where everyone
can be successful no matter what their ability level. Every player can
have fun and learn the game of softball and walk away feeling good about
themselves and building friendships that last a lifetime.”
Lavey emphasized the fact that the league is deeply involved in the community.
“We
try to teach our girls that it is important to give back to the
community. Each season we try to have some sort of community giving
weekend,” she said. “In the past we have had breast cancer awareness
weekends, and the last few years we have had drives to collect food and
personal care items that we donate to CCAP. We have a scholarship fund
that gives out scholarships to graduating senior players to help a
little with college expenses. We have given out over 35 scholarships
over the last 14 years. The scholarship fund was started in memory of my
daughter Katie, who passed away unexpectedly in 2005 at the age of 16.
Katie loved the league.”
There have been changes in the support the players have received over the years as well.
“I
can remember as player that not many people would come to watch our
games. Now I look at the field when we have games and our stands are
full of family and friends cheering on the girls. So as we approach the
start of our 50th season I believe we can look back and say that we have
served our community well and look forward and say that we still have a
purpose and place within our community,” Lavey said.
The ongoing
COVID-19 crisis forced a delay in the start of the milestone season, and
the schedule remains uncertain. In a recent message on Facebook, league
president Joe Tortolano said the organization’s board will “plan as
best we can and make sure Edgewood has its 50th season.”
https://cranstononline.com/stories/edgewood-is-family,152572?