Youth Carmel Valley Softball History

2010 10u Gold All Star Team

The history of youth Carmel Valley softball in San Diego is relatively short yet worthy of note. Prior to the inception of the game in Carmel Valley, girls who loved softball generally played baseball with Del Mar Little League. In 1989 our community had it’s first season of softball with 100+ players between the ages of 5 -14. For years our girls played as part of the Encinitas League (“North City League”). As that Encinitas grew, the Carmel Valley San Diego community got lost in the shuffle and parents decided to form their own league.

Therefore, North Shore Softball was formed. Debbie Ewing (the league’s first President) and Mary Bonde led the task of developing a name, finding fields to play on and acquiring equipment to play with. This presented quite a challenge with limited funds and manpower. Luckily two new schools were being built that led to available fields. Gently used equipment was acquired from a National City league that had recently folded. Industrious Dad, Ron Mick was able to stretch out the gear for the first year and then started a campaign to systematically upgrade the equipment to his high standards.

Enrollment in the league started off slow but began to rapidly increase in coming years to over 500 girls. However like many organizations, the league experienced growing pains. In 1992 NSGSL joined the ASA (American Softball Association). Although registration fees would be higher, grouping girls in 2 year age brackets allowed for improved competition. Girls could “play up” and the all-star teams and draft was more equitable for players.

In 2009 the first North Shore team advanced to the Nationals, having placed throughout the divisional and state tournaments. In 2010 our 10u Gold team went to Nationals under the leadership of General Manager Tim Schegg. 2011 once again led to an appearance in the Western National Tournament in Tucson by our 12u All Star team led by General Manager Kent Zapata.

2012 – 12u Gold All Star Team

North Shore has become a true asset to our community and players. The caliber of softball at Torrey Pines High School has risen with the influx of experienced players the league sends them each year. As well, Canyon Crest Academy has introduced softball to their spring sports line up in 2012. Although NS’s start was wobbly, it has built a strong foundation for future players in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego. New and exciting chapters are written for our league each year.

North Shore Player Registration is now open for the 2017 season at NSGSL.com. New players are encouraged and welcomed!

North Shore Girls Softball League is a non profit organization providing recreational softball leagues to girls from the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Torrey Hills, Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe, from ages 5 to 14.

Elizabeth Ander Hughes serves on the North Shore Girls Softball League board as Fall Ball Coordinator and Social Media Director. She also has her own food blog called Virtually Homemade and is an experienced writer. Liz is a Carmel Valley San Diego community resident and mom to two wonderful kids and a wife to a loving husband.  She will be working on behalf of North Shore Girls Softball League to feature information about youth athletics and also inform the community about their softball events and the North Shore Girls Softball League in general. We are excited to have both Liz and NSGSL as part of our growing “Sports” section.