She’s 11-Years-Old and Plays Baseball. Last Weekend, the Coral Springs Girl Took Part in Little League Girls Event in Pennsylvania.
By Zahra Huber,
2024-06-10
Gia Widom plays middle-infield and centerfield for the North Springs Little League in Coral Springs and took part in Little League Girls with Game Experience event in Williamsport, Pa. last weekend. Credits: Gary Widom
CORAL SPRINGS, FL – Last weekend, an 11-year-old girl from Coral Springs played baseball at Little League Girls with Game Experience in Williamsport, Pa.
It was a big deal for Gia Widom, who plays middle-infield and centerfield for the North Springs Little League.
She applied to be a part of the event earlier this year and was eventually invited to play with nearly 100 young women from across the nation at the three-day event.
“She loved it,” said Gia’s father, Gary Widom. “The comradery was amazing. And to have girls with the same opportunity as anyone else, it was fantastic.”
Gia, who was born in Coral Springs and has lived there her whole life, has played baseball since she was just four years old.
“What I like about playing baseball is the sportsmanship and the teamwork that all the players have together,” she said. “Hitting, fielding, catching fly balls, and playing positions altogether.”
With many girls playing softball in separate leagues, it’s not surprising that just a handful of girls play baseball on the North Springs Little League.
And it’s rare that you’ll find more than one girl on a team at a time, her father said.
Youth sports experts estimate that close to 100,000 girls play baseball in leagues across the nation.
“You have all-girls basketball, all-girls soccer. It would be nice to see an all-girls baseball team,” he said.
Gia would like to see more girls on the team, too.
“I think more girls should play baseball because I feel like if we have more girls playing baseball it will show boys all over the world that it’s not just the boys who can play these sports. Girls can too,” she said.
But Gia doesn’t really mind playing against her male counterparts, she said.
“It just feels good to have good competition. You know, playing with other boys. It’s not like, oh, girls have to play this sport and boys have to play this sport. I can play with them and have the competition I want and need,” she said.
In addition to baseball, Gia plays travel soccer, is a brown belt in Karate, and holds straight A’s in school.
She just graduated from Country Hills Elementary in Coral Springs and will be going to Coral Springs Charter next school year as a sixth grader.
“I’m just really proud of my daughter,” said Gary.
Gia, by the way, wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up, but would love to continue playing baseball as long as she can.
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