Davis softball programs lack proper facilities

PHOTO: The net of the Davis High softball batting cage has torn and collapsed, rendering it practically unusable. 

By Mattias RowenBale,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

With only one lit softball field in Davis, Davis Youth Softball Association practices are cut short by the early winter sunsets. 

The only lit field is owned by the City of Davis and is expensive to rent, making it hard to use reliably. 

However, the lack of lighting is not the only problem that Davis softball teams face. Instead, it is just one consequence of the absence of proper facilities. 

DYSA practices on many fields around Davis, but playing on each brings its own set of challenges. Most are unlit and therefore unusable after dark, many don’t have bleachers or reasonably constructed dugouts, and some even have grass and dirt that are hard to play on. 

The difference is stark when compared to the Davis Little League complex’s lit fields, bleachers, covered dugouts and batting cages.

According to softball coach Tracy Frank, the discrepancy between baseball and softball in Davis is based on institutional opportunity. 

“In Davis baseball has a long standing tradition . . . (and) they had a facility that was kind of built for them years and years and years and years ago,” Frank said, “And since then, they’ve had opportunity because of it”.

Frank says that one of the biggest barriers keeping DYSA from improving facilities is the lack of fundraising ability.

“(It’s important)making sure that (fields) are well groomed and taken care of because if you neglect them they’re a mess,” Frank said, “but it all comes down to fundraising and fundraising is hard to do.” 

While Davis Little League generates profit through selling advertisements in the form of signage on their fences, DYSA is not allowed by the City of Davis to post signs. 

As for what can be done to improve the state of the DYSA fields, Frank says “knowing that most of these sports organizations rely a lot on fundraising and getting the word out that they exist is kind of most important.”

While the Davis High softball program has a similar need for better facilities, the DHS team isn’t quite as concerned about fundraising. According to Coach Mike Trask, all of the improvement and upkeep of the DHS fields need to happen on an individual level, and there aren’t enough people for the work to get done. 

“It’s like a committee of one or two or the three of us (coaches) that are trying to get stuff done,” Coach Trask said. “Basically, just not a lot of people care.”

But these fields and their upkeep are very important to the players. Maintenance issues, such as problems with the DHS batting cage net, impact the performance of players. 

“There (are) like holes in the cage and it (is) practically rotting down. So with people jogging and biking around, you have to really be aware of what you’re doing,” freshman Alessandra Trask said. 

For Davis softball players, proper facilities and support wouldn’t just mean physical improvements to the fields, they would also mean stronger softball programs overall.

“I think it’s a wonderful community, and being able to add to the facilities … would improve our experience,” Trask said.

Coach Trask believes that as important as it would be to improve the facilities and fields, the most important thing would be for the Davis community to recognize the significance of softball.

“It means a lot to these kids … in their lives and their futures,” he said.

For both Trask and junior Ian Bourne, playing softball has been “deeply important” and instrumental in “leadership building and community building.”

“I want people to understand that their support of softball is directly related to leadership building in young girls,” Bourne said. “We as a community have to actively work to support softball.”