By KAREN JONES CODY
In Knott County, for the most part, it has been traditional that young boys have the option to play different sports throughout the year — basketball, baseball, football — but there have been less opportunities for girls. Three years ago, a group of volunteers decided to change that by establishing a softball league for girls age 12 and under.
James Sandlin told the Times the group started out in Little League Softball in 2013 with 23 girls — two teams.
“We had heard for years that we would never get a girls program started in Knott County — people told us there just wasn’t enough interest,” Sandlin said. “But we were determined to try. Everybody knows there is a drug epidemic in Eastern Kentucky; there have been more ways out for boys, more positive things for them to get involved in to keep them from going down that path. There hasn’t been as much for girls. We believed there was a need for it here.”
Lots of volunteers got involved, and the effort went well. In 2014, Sandlin explained, the group went to Little League with applications for 68 participants. “Little League said that was great — but we had nowhere to play. Rules dictate….
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