{"id":86241,"date":"2025-12-17T04:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/86241\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T04:12:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T04:12:06","slug":"parents-say-lack-of-softball-fields-in-port-st-lucie-leaves-girls-fighting-for-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/86241\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents say lack of softball fields in Port St. Lucie leaves girls fighting for space"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Parents, coaches and young athletes are raising concerns over what they say is a shortage of softball fields in Port St. Lucie, arguing the lack of access is putting girls at a disadvantage compared to boys\u2019 sports.<\/p>\n

For families like Joshua Niemann\u2019s, softball is more than just a game. His daughter, Lilly, has played fast-pitch softball since she was nine years old, and he believes the sport could open doors to college scholarships.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that could advance into a college scholarship,\u201d Niemann said. \u201cAnd without the fields, how do the girls get their shake?\u201d<\/p>\n

See also: Port St. Lucie Police seek help in finding missing, endangered teen<\/a><\/p>\n

But securing a place to practice has become increasingly difficult. Niemann says many available fields are regularly occupied by men\u2019s baseball leagues, leaving girls\u2019 fast-pitch teams scrambling for space.<\/p>\n

After reviewing city spending on sports facilities, Niemann says the imbalance is clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past 10 years, 90% of those capital projects were dedicated toward boys and men\u2019s slow-pitch versus girls\u2019 fast-pitch softball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the City of Port St. Lucie, there are currently three football fields, seven baseball game fields and five multipurpose fields that could host softball. However, the city does not have any fields dedicated specifically to fast-pitch softball.<\/p>\n

As a result, teams are often forced to practice on grassy football fields or rent batting cages just to stay prepared for tournaments.<\/p>\n

Players say those conditions have led to injuries and have made it harder to compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve actually injured my knee doing that,\u201d said Amiya, a player on the Florida Stars Fast Pitch 12U team who normally dives. \u201cI had to wear a knee compression because I hurt my knee diving on the grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilly, who is a pitcher, says limited practice space puts players at a disadvantage on game day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have a place to pitch before a tournament, you really struggle,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re unready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Daniel Traver, who helps lead the team, says finding fields for practice has become one of his toughest responsibilities. He says baseball leagues often rent fields months in advance, leaving softball teams with few options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need a dedicated park like Sportsman or Whispering Pines,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cThey have dedicated parks. We need that, and we don\u2019t have that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents and coaches say until the city invests in dedicated softball facilities, girls\u2019 fast-pitch teams will continue fighting for space \u2014 and for equal opportunity to develop their skills.<\/p>\n

The City of Port St. Lucie says multipurpose fields are available by reservation on a first-come, first-served basis, but families argue that system isn\u2019t enough to meet the growing demand for girls\u2019 softball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Parents, coaches and young athletes are raising concerns over what they say…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-86241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-port-st-lucie","9":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}