(WSB photos)

High-school softball season is still about a month away, but some of West Seattle HS‘s team members were on the field at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex this morning for a special event – mentoring younger players.

The clinic was for West Seattle Little League softball players in two groups – first the Rookies and Minors (League age 7-10 or for beginners), then Majors and Juniors (league age 11-14 or for advanced players):

Participants got to practice hitting, throwing, catching, fielding, and running:

The clinic was created three seasons ago by Kamil Ygnacio, now a senior, to help raise softball’s community visibility:

Clinic participation has doubled over the years – 60 players this time around. The clinic was free of charge for WSLL players but donations were welcome to help the WSHS softball program (you can chip in here – specify that it’s for softball).

Lots of youth-sports news as spring approaches – including this announcement from West Seattle Baseball:

Last Chance to Sign Up for West Seattle Baseball 2024 Spring Season!

Registration for West Seattle Baseball closes on Monday, February 12th. Don’t miss out on the fun-filled season for Spring Baseball.

West Seattle Baseball is offering Baseball for five different divisions. Registration is open now through February 12th. Also available are scholarship assistance and multi-sibling discounts.

Sign up at: westseattlebaseball.com

Pricing:

Shetland/T-Ball (6U) – $130

Baseball:

Pinto (8U) – $185
Mustang (10U) – $195
Bronco (12U) – $250
Pony (14U) – $300

Registration costs include a ballcap and team jersey for each player, in addition to a full season of baseball with events three times per week from mid-March through early June.

West Seattle Baseball believes that every child deserves to benefit from the games of baseball. For families needing financial assistance, we offer reduced-fee league registration through the West Seattle Baseball Scholarship Assistance program. If you wish to apply, please contact wsbbregistrar@gmail.com

One of the most unusual events on our calendar happens early Saturday morning at West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor):

We are going to host another viewing party for the Olympic Marathon Trials!! We will open the doors at 7 am; the (regular weekly) run will take place as usual at 8 am for those interested. Either Tim or Lori will stay at the shop rather than run so those who wish to stay and view can do so. It will be going still for folks as they return from their run (depending on their distance).

You are also welcome to just show up for the 8 am run.

Spring gets ever closer, and so do baseball and softball seasons. So West Seattle Little League has updates!

Thank you to the families that have already registered for the upcoming season. If you still need to secure a spot on the roster for your Little Leaguer, registration will remain open until Feb 11th. Registering early helps streamline our league operations – sign up today!

West Seattle Little League is excited to announce the third year of the Challenger Program! The Challenger program is Little League’s adaptive baseball program, which offers additional support for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. The Challengers program is free to all participants and open to West Seattle residents between the ages of 4 and 18 or up to age 22 if still enrolled in school. Inclusion and opportunity are the cornerstones of Little League®, and it’s our passion to ensure everyone has an opportunity to play. Find more info HERE or email challenger@westseattlelittleleague.com with any questions.

Lastly, we have two exciting opportunities for our softball players!

February 4th – Softball skills clinic led by WSHS softball players! Your player will learn and practice the basics of softball.

February 11th – Softball pitching clinic led by Kalimar Pettit. Over one hour, your player will learn the fundamental softball pitching skills.

We look forward to seeing you on the field!

As of moments ago, season tickets are on sale for the debut of West Seattle’s new “pre-pro” soccer club, West Seattle Junction FC. The team says it’s confirmed Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) as the stadium for its home games, and the schedule will go public in February. The roster is still being finalized; as we reported while tryouts were under way earlier this month, Erik Oman is on board as head coach. The team’s creation was announced last month by “a team of soccer enthusiasts that have supported our youth soccer community for over 25 years,” explaining that Junction FC is intended to be “a much-needed platform for our most talented athletes to showcase their skills.” (Plus another means of community connection and fun.) West Seattle Junction FC will compete in USL2‘s Northwest Division, whose other teams include the league champion Ballard FC. Along with season-ticket sales, starting today the club also is offering merch pre-sales including hats, scarves, hoodies, and stickers (jerseys later). Individual game tickets will go on sale in about three weeks.

(WSB photos)

More than 120 players tried out this past week for our area’s new “pre-pro” soccer club, West Seattle Junction FC. It’s been three weeks since club leadership went public with plans to start playing this May in the USL2, joining more than 120 teams nationwide (including future crosstown rival Ballard FC, the current league champions). Also this past week, the team’s owners announced Junction FC’s head coach, Erik Oman, who was working with the prospective players who turned out for tryouts at Delridge Playfield:

Junction FC describes Coach Oman’s background as “impressive,” and provides these highlights:

Erik holds numerous licenses including US Soccer A license, his Premier Diploma for coaching, and a National Goalkeeper coaching license. With over 30 years of coaching, including a 15-year collegiate coaching career with University of Northern Colorado, UW, University of Montana, Colorado College, and the US Air Force Academy. He has coached numerous National team and professional players and mentored hundreds of coaches as a national coaching educator. Since returning to Seattle in 2007, Erik has been in various high-level leadership roles, most recently serving as the League Technical Director for the Washington Premier League as well as the League’s Academy program serving top players across the State.

Junction FC’s announcement quotes the new coach as saying, ““I saw in West Seattle an amazing community with the potential to build a passionate following for a team and a group of owners who were truly dedicated to their community and the development of the game there.” Ownership-team members were there for Friday’s tryouts too:

From left in our photo are Kaitlyn Jackson, Jessica Pierce, and Tom Gaffney, who say the team was formed by “soccer enthusiasts that have supported our youth soccer community for over 25 years.” They plan to start Junction FC with the men’s team (U23) this year and add a women’s team next year. They’re still working on finalizing the plan to play home matches at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex; they’re aiming to start ticket sales next month.

Thanks to Steve Pumphrey for the photo, looking across Elliott Bay at the stadium’s sign of support for the University of Washington football game, playing Michigan on Monday night for the national championship. So far we’ve heard from one West Seattle establishment having a watch party on Monday – at Ounces (3809 Delridge Way SW), doors open at 4 pm (game time is 4:30 pm), and Isidro’s Mexican-food truck will be there. They promise the sound will be on. Any place else? Let us know and we can build a list – westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!

ADDED 11:26 AM: First addition just texted – Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW) says “we’ll be showing it on all TVs, including our 10′ projection screen in the front room, with sound!”

ADDED 3 PM: We’ve also heard from The Good Society (California and Lander), whose proprietor Nick says, “We will have the National Championship with sound on Monday!” And a texter says, “The Westy will definitely be featuring the Husky Championship game.” (7908 35th SW)

ADDED SUNDAY: Via text – “The Bridge will have the game on all 15 TV’s and both projectors with sound. Mot a bad seat in the house!” (California/Graham)

ADDED MONDAY: Via text – “UW watch party at Super Deli Mart on 6 TV’s with sound. 9% off all pints during game.” (35th/Barton) … Via email from Christo’s on Alki (2508 Alki SW) – “We will be showing the game on all 8 TV’s with sound throughout! Come early and secure your spot!” … Via text – Admiral Pub (2306 California SW) “is showing the Huskies game today on all TVs with sound including the big screen.”

Another local youth-sports league wants you to know that it’s time to register for spring! This announcement is from West Seattle Baseball and Softball, based at the Pee Wee Fields in Riverview:

We can’t wait for spring to start and for baseball to return. This year we are also excited to offer a full session of girls’ softball for the Spring season.

West Seattle Baseball is offering Baseball for six different divisions, and – new this year – offering Softball for three. Registration is open now through February 15th. Early registration discount is available for all registrations completed by January 5th. Also available are multi-sibling discounts.

Sign up at: https://www.westseattlebaseball.com/

Pricing:

Shetland/T-Ball (6U) – $130

Baseball:

Pinto (8U) – $185
Mustang (10U) – $195
Bronco (12U) – $250
Pony (14U) – $300

Softball:

Pinto (8U) – $130
Mustang (10U) – $130
Bronco (12U) – $130

Registration costs include a ballcap and team jersey for each player, in addition to a full season of baseball/softball with events three times per week from mid-March through early June.

West Seattle Baseball believes that every child deserves to benefit from the games of baseball and softball. For families needing financial assistance, we offer reduced-fee league registration through the West Seattle Baseball Scholarship Assistance program. If you wish to apply, please contact wsbbregistrar@gmail.com.

West Seattle Baseball is a 100% volunteer-run, non-profit youth baseball league. Our goal is to provide comprehensive baseball programming that appeals to kids of all levels of enthusiasm and ability. The league prides itself on being a fun and enjoyable program that our players, their families, and their coaches want to participate in again each succeeding season. If you have questions about the divisions or anything else West Seattle Baseball, please email the league at communications@westseattlebaseball.com.

We hope to see you at the West Seattle PeeWee Fields soon. For the love of the game.

Another youth sports league is signing up players for 2024. This time it’s Southwest Little League. Rob emailed us to say that SWLL “is now open for baseball, softball and Challenger programs, ages 4-14.” Here’s the link. Rob notes that SWLL is one of the local youth sports leagues that has a geographic jurisdiction, including “a large portion of West Seattle including High Point, Highland Park, Arbor Heights, and South Delridge, in addition to White Center, South Park, and Highline.” Registration is open until February, so you have time to decide; the season starts in March.

Love soccer? Get ready to support the newly formed West Seattle Junction FC. Here’s the announcement about the team, which starts play next spring, but needs a show of community support right now:

West Seattle Junction FC, a pre-pro U-23 soccer club, is forming in our community and will debut in a series of 14 home/away matches and friendlies starting in mid-May 2024. Formed by a team of soccer enthusiasts that have supported our youth soccer community for over 25 years, this venture will bring a much needed platform for our most talented athletes to showcase their skills. The Club’s men’s team is planned for 2024 and the women’s team in 2025, competing in the USL W league.

The club aims to foster a strong connection to a hyper-local fanbase and create a memorable experience for fans, players, and everyone involved. They also intend to have a positive impact both on and off the field. Ticket sales will begin in early February with their schedule announcements and will be priced between $13.00 – $15.00 per ticket with a block of tickets set aside at no cost to provide accessibility to the entire fan base.

The team has already begun preparations for the upcoming season and will announce early January tryouts at Delridge Playfield within the next week through their social media pages. The coaching staff is currently being assembled, and they promise to bring a wealth of experience and expertise, ensuring that West Seattle Junction FC is well-prepared for the challenges and triumphs of USL2 competition. Competitors will include Ballard FC, the 2023 National Champions, OlyTown FC, PDX FC, and many more Northwest Division teams.

West Seattle Junction FC invites the community to join them on this exciting journey. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements, events, and opportunities to get involved. Follow the team on social media for the latest updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses as they prepare to make their mark in USL2.

Special note: Formation is not without its challenges. Their desired home field, Southwest Athletic Complex, a perfect location to host the West Seattle community and a soccer match, requires an application process through Parks and SPS.

Questions and concerns related to the Club’s use of the field persist and they have been unable to properly secure the 7 field reservations needed to host their home matches. The club would greatly appreciate a community show of support by providing written support in the Blog comments and/or an email that can be forwarded by the Club to the parties reviewing their application with your vote of support. Highline Soccer Association and its board members have all rendered full letters of support to the decision makers and now it’s time for the community to weigh in.

Email address is info@junctionfc.org – website (as linked above) is junctionfc.org.