What is the Warren County Girls’ Softball Association?

The WCGSA is an association of town fastpitch softball programs that was started more than 40 years ago by a few women in White and Belvidere. They were interested in a recreational program just for girls. The basic tenets and rules created by them have withstood the challenges of time with little change.  We have sixteen member towns: Allamuchy, Belvidere, Blairstown, Franklin, Frelinghuysen, Hackettstown, Harmony, Hope, Independence, Knowlton, Liberty, Mansfield, Oxford, Washington Borough, Washington Township, and White. All Warren County towns are welcome to join the WCGSA. 

Who manages the association?

Every town’s program is managed by a town resident who represents his or her program within the association.  Each January we all get together in some chilly Warren County town hall and collectively determine how the season will be managed.  

Who can participate in the WCGSA?

The association consists of the town reps, coaches and other volunteers, umpires, and most importantly, players. The players range in age from Kindergarten to 9^th grade. There are no tryouts. Everyone who signs up can play. Even if a town hasn’t signed up enough girls to make a team, the girls who have signed up will have the opportunity to play for a nearby town.

Where do they play?

The towns play within Warren County on town fields. All of the fields are well-groomed, and the recreational settings throughout Warren County are beautiful. 

Warren County also features one of the few remaining wooden grandstands in the country. The Washington Borough Park is the site of the WCGSA All-Star game every year. A few hundred spectators enjoy ballpark food and drinks while seated comfortably on the wooden benches of the grandstand.

So, what makes WCGSA special?

There are a few truly wonderful characteristics of this longtime association. First, and foremost, our rules are based on fair play, inclusiveness, and equity. Players are guaranteed to play at least part of every game. The girls play with their schoolmates, or, sometimes, with their future schoolmates. The season concludes with playoffs and an All-Star game highlighting two players from every team in the 5^th – 9^th grade levels.

Another special quality of the WCGSA is the general attitude of the town representatives. Some reps stay for years after their own daughters have graduated from the program, and we have a number of parents and coaches who were onetime WCGSA players! There can be no doubt that these men and women really care about creating a great program for the players every year. They shape the rules for safety and ensure that the practice and playing areas are safe and clean.

Sum it up for me.

So, I guess you could say what is special about WCGSA is in the name:

Warren County – We get to play in the most beautiful county in New Jersey.

Girls – for us, it’s all for and all about the girls. They make it all worthwhile.

Softball – Softball is a game that can be played well into adulthood, and the time on the bench offers a chance to really get to know and have fun with your teammates.

Association - It’s a casual, fun association of caring community volunteers who, every year for nearly half a century, have informally agreed to a set of rules and a schedule of games so that hundreds of girls, sorted into local teams, can enjoy another spring of fastpitch softball.