Updated schedules are now posted!

Thanks to the watchful eye of many a reader, we found a few changes that needed to be made in the schedules. Updated schedules are now available with a click on the right hand side of this page.

Changes in the 8 & under and 10 & under divisions are fairly minor involving only a couple of games.

Changes for the 16 & under division are pretty significant since the Fortuna team failed to materialize.

Also check out the concession stand schedule for the Arcata fields. Every team gets 2 or 3 turns at staffing our snack shack. This is the biggest fundraiser for our league so please make sure your team is helping when it's scheduled. If you don't show up when scheduled, the snack shack is closed and the league has no income. Thank you for helping ensure the girls have everything they need for a quality softball experience.

Keep an eye on this website for updates and changes. And don't forget to check our hotline (or this webpage) for daily field conditions at Hiller and Arcata fields.....822-3575.

Spring Season Schedules Are Ready

Update Sunday 4/20: The 12 & Under Division schedule is now posted and available right here. Coaches can download the schedules from here. (Copies will be available at the Arcata Fields on Monday night. (There were also minor modifications made to the 16 under schedule affecting only one game between two teams.)

Look just to the right of these words and you'll find, finally, the game schedules for three of our four divisions: 8 & Unders, 10 & Unders, and 16 & Unders. The 12 & Under schedule was completed, but then late word of an additional team was received by this office late Saturday evening. We hope to have the 12 & Under schedule up and running before the weekend is out.

Your coaches will have copies of the schedules for you at Saturday's Jamboree.

Keep an eye on this website for something close to daily updates on the schedules as and where needed. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, email us here, or call our hotline number, 822-3575.

Let's play ball!

Saturday, April 19th: Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Jamboree

Our opening day Jamboree is this Saturday, April 19th at the Arcata Sports Complex. In addition to a day of exhibition games between all Mad River teams, player and team pictures will be taken.

The Jamboree Schedule is now available; Click here or here to get your copy. Your coaches will be sharing this information with you as well.

We'll see you on Saturday.

Update (4/18): The weather forecast is lookin' a bit funky for Saturday. Team and player pictures will be taken, regardless of the weather. Players should plan on being at the Arcata Fields in full uniform at their scheduled time for the pictures. Whether exhibition games are played or not will depend on the weather and field conditions at the time. Ahh, the Humboldt spring is never easy on softball season, is it? See you Saturday!

ASA Umpires Clinic: Sunday, April 13th 1:00 in Arcata

This Sunday, April 13th, Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association is offering a clinic for all current and prospective ASA fastpitch softball umpires. Our instructor is Gary McGlaughlin who has 38 years of experience in softball umpiring. Everyone, whether a beginner or practicing umpire, who is interested in the ASA program, will benefit from this clinic. The first half of the program will be instruction on technique, the second half consists of hands-on instruction on the field.

The clinic meets Sunday at 1:00 pm at the Arcata Sports Complex and runs until 5:00 pm. If it's raining, we'll move the clinic indoors. Cost is $10.00 per person.

Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association is currently looking for qualified umpires for our spring season. Games are generally scheduled on Monday through Thursday evenings and on Saturdays. Umpires receive $25 per game for their services. Most evenings have 2 games per field. Games are played at the Arcata Sports Complex and Hiller Field in McKinleyville.

If you're interested in umpiring for the league this spring, please call us at 822-3575, or email us here.

And now a word for our sponsors...

There is no way Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association could be successful without the generous support of our sponsors. Businesses from around the northern Humboldt County community have joined us in providing outstanding opportunities girls to play this wonderful game. We'd like to take a moment to thank those who have contributed to the league's success already this season. If you know someone who works for one of these organizations, please give 'em a big thanks for the players in the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Assocation:

DBA Building Services Unlimited
Evergreen Pulp, Inc - 2 team sponsorships!
Coast Central Credit Union
Hank's Coffeehouse and General Store
Western Living Concepts (Danco)
Alves, Inc.
Mad River Lumber
Shasta Constructors
Arcata Garbage Company

Soroptimists International of Arcata

Tina's Photography

Stars Hamburgers

Woodland Group

More sponsors will be listed here as they join us.

If you or your business are interested in helping the young women of Humboldt County play softball, feel free to email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com. Downloadable sponsorship forms are available right here.

Thanks again to all those who help our young players succeed.

Let's play some softball!

What a great weekend for Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball! A ton of kids showed up for assessments on Saturday, and on Sunday, 14 coaches tackled the difficult task of pulling the teams together for the 2008 season. Can you believe it's less than two week 'til our Jamboree, and just three weeks 'til the games start? Are you ready?

Players should hear from their coaches (if they haven't already) by the middle of this week. If you've registered and not heard from one of our coaches by Wednesday, April 9th, please email us here or call us at 822-3575. Practices for most teams start right away.

More than 150 players, ages 6 to 16 have signed on to play softball this season. We have four strong divisions.

8 & Under = 4 teams
10 & Under = 4 teams
12 & Under = 3 teams
16 & Under = 3 teams

As an ASA league, our registrations are not limited to a single community. Our players come from up and down the northern Humboldt neighborhood, from Eureka to Trinidad. Here's an idea of the geographic mix of our players and coaches: (to see this in graph form, click here.)

40% from Arcata
39% from McKinleyville
10% from Bayside
8% from Blue Lake, Trinidad, & Fieldbrook
3% from Eureka & Manila

Remember the league Jamboree (with team pictures) is Saturday, April 19th. Our games begin Monday, April 28th and run through June 6th. A season ending tournament will be played the week of June 9th. Once again, we will be playing interleague games with the Cutten-Ridgewood ASA league to round out our schedule.

Thank you all for joining us for a fantastic softball season. We'll see you on the fields.

2008 Player Assessment Day is this Saturday, April 5th at the HSU Field House

Softball season is finally here.
And the sun has returned to northern Humboldt County just in time.

The Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's player assessments for the 2008 Spring League will be held at the HSU Field House this Saturday, April 5th. All players should plan on attending this one-hour assessment at the age-appropriate times shown below. A player's age is determined by how old they were on December 31, 2007.

7 & 8 year olds: 11:30-12:30
9 & 10 year olds: 12:30-1:30
11 & 12 year olds: 1:30-2:30
13-16 year olds: 2:30-3:30

This is an assessment, not a tryout. All players who register will be placed on a team. The assessments are used to help balance our teams and place our athletes in the best position to learn and succeed. Players will be assessed on basic hitting and fielding skills. No prior softball experience is necessary for participation at any age level.

Players should bring their own gloves. Rubber cleats are permitted at the HSU Field House.

If you have not already registered, please bring a completed registration form and the registration fee with you on Saturday. The forms can be downloaded (in Word format) from here: 2008 Registration Form. (Registration forms will be available at the assessments as well.) The registration fee is $50, plus a $30 deposit for the uniform, refundable at the end of the season. Uniform sizing will also take place at the assessments. Orders for uniform accessories - sliding shorts, knee pads, etc - and a selection of league t-shirts and sweatshirts will also be available on Saturday.

If you cannot attend the assessments this Saturday, especially if you have not yet registered, please email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com or call the league hotline at 822-3575 and let us know your player's name, age (on 12/31/2007), home phone and email, and their coach's name from last season (if they played with us last year). If you contact us by Saturday, you will be included in Sunday's player draft. (Late registrations are permitted, but team placement is conditional based upon the number of established teams and the number of players already assigned to each team.)

The League's coaches will hold the player draft on Sunday afternoon. Coaches should be in contact with their players early the following week with practices beginning as soon as we can get our teams together.

If you have any questions at all, please refer to the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Assocation's website: madrivergirlssoftball.blogspot.com. Or, email us here, or call the hotline, for a relatively prompt reply to your questions.

By the way, we are still looking for a couple more interested coaches and assistant coaches, particularly at the 8 & under level. If you're interested in finding out more about our coaching opportunities, email us here or call the league's hotline, and we'll be in touch.

We'll see you on Saturday.

Play Ball!