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The league is a Babe Ruth-chartered league under the direction of the Norwalk Athletic Association. Seeley became president this year after serving as a coach for five years.
One of the things he seeks to address was a decline in participation, something that youth sports leagues are experiencing. Though there are many reasons for this, one that Seeley saw is that, as kids get older, they tend to not want to play if they don’t think they’re very good at the game.
“Even if their friends are on the team, if they’re striking out three times in a game, they’re not having much fun. We want to focus on what they can do so that they don’t strike out three times,” Seeley said.
The league has sought to accomplish this by holding more clinics and focusing on instruction. In years past, they have usually held one clinic for all kids in the league, regardless of age or skill level. Since the end of January they’ve been holding a free clinic every week for all kids registered in the league.
The clinics so far have been a big success, he said. Clinics used to attract about 15 to 20 players, but the weekly free clinics have seen as many as 60 focusing on skills such as throwing, catching and pitching.
“So many coaches have volunteered their time and talent to make it a success and create a bigger crop of softball players for years to come,” he said. The clinics have brought in Rec league coaches, high school coaches and coaches and players from the Norwalk Elite team led by Trina Muro and John Sheehan.
“It was an amazing sight to see the Elite girls act as instructors for the Rec girls,” Seeley said. “It’s all about community and helping each other out and creating an atmosphere of learning and positive energy.”
The clinics will continue through until the start of the season in April. Norwalk Girls Softball currently has one Division 3 team, but Seeley hopes that changes and renewed interest in the league will eventually enable them to have two or three Division 3 teams.
Other initiatives that the league is looking at include new uniforms, improving the quality of the fields, revamping the league’s website, improving communication with parents and coaches and different avenues to increase registration in the league. He thinks that the league will continue to see more success because the people who volunteer are dedicated to making sure that the kids have a great time.
“We have an incredible board of hard-working, dedicated people who care about softball and care about the kids in Norwalk.”
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