WAGS tryouts a hit for young ballplayers

Photos by JOE WOODS/Acorn Newspapers STARTING LINEUP- Lindero Canyon Middle School student Ashley Wilkins, above, impressed the coaches with her batting prowess at the WAGS softball tryouts at Agoura High School on Saturday. Below right, Olivia Rothschild, 11, of Thousand Oaks, spends time in the batting cage. Below left, Erika Busbice, 7, a student at Westlake Hills Elementary School, takes a mighty swing at the ball. Although most players hadn't even picked up a bat or ball in six months, Westlake Agoura Girls Softball (WAGS) kicked off the 2007 season Saturday morning with its annual tryouts.

Hundreds of girls, ages 8 to 15, worked out at Agoura High to see what league best fit their skills. The tryouts featured many different stations, including ones for hitting, fielding and pitching.

According to Howard Berman, the commissioner of WAGS, the main purpose of the event was to have the kids smiling by day's end.

"This is my favorite day of the season," Berman said. "There are no winners or losers today. Most girls haven't picked up a softball in six months and are very nervous. Our main goal is to have them feeling comfortable by the end of the day."

Berman said the tryouts are a way to make sure every team during the season has fun and that the leagues are very competitive.

"The reason for the tryouts is to evaluate the players and make sure that there is a fair draft," Berman said. "We want as many 5-5 teams as possible. We don't want one team that is 10-0 and one team that is 0-10.

"I think the tryouts also serve as a way to find out what league is best for a certain kid," he said. "If the players want a more instructive league, then the American League is best for that kid. If the kid wants a more competitive league, then the National League fits better. Ninety-nine times out of 100, we help them pick the right league."

Eight-year-old Jacquelyne Moran came to the tryouts a little scared, but at the end of the day the butterflies had vanished.

"It was fun today playing," Moran said. "My favorite station was the hitting station because I think I am a pretty good hitter."

WAGS began in 1984 and over the years has helped many players learn the game before they compete at the high school level. The past two years have seen tremendous success from some of the teams in WAGS, with the 2005 10-year-old team becoming the ASA National Tournament winner while the 12-year-old team came in second place in 2006.

Coach Jim Depippo has seen three of his daughters play WAGS, and he said the league has shown major improvements over the past couple years.

"The league is far more organized than it used to be," Depippo said. "It used to take two to three hours to get a player to do tryouts. Now we get them done in about a half an hour. Another thing that is great now is we have many free clinics on hitting, fielding and pitching during the course of the season, so the players can learn more."

Thirteen-year-old Tally Zema is entering her fifth year in WAGS and will begin high school at Oak Park next year, where she hopes to make the softball team. In the meantime, she enjoyed another tryout for WAGS.

"These tryouts definitely take me back," Zema said. "I remember my first year it was scary seeing all these girls that were older than me and better than me.

"Now it has changed a little bit for me, and I'm more confident and not as nervous. Everyone in WAGS seems to be a part of one big family and tries to help each other out. I'm helping at the pitching stations today. I just tell the kids that look nervous to relax and have a good time."

Christina Collen is a mother of two girls that are in WAGS. For the second straight season, Collen has been in charge of the uniforms, which were displayed at the tryouts. Collen explained that the tryouts are a good way to see what everyone had been doing over the past couple months.

"The girls come back and you haven't seen them in a few months," Collen said. "It's fun to meet and greet them and see how much they have grown. Sometimes the girls that are trying out have older sisters that once played, and they come back to tell us how much they enjoyed playing in WAGS."

Berman said the whole day is fun, but he gets the most pleasure from watching the newcomers play for the first time.

"We have to get them to try and lighten up and breathe," Berman said. "I love teaching them the simple things that we take for granted now, like how to hold a ball and throw it. The coaches and volunteers we have are incredible and help make it easy for the kids to learn."

Berman said that the league is always looking for more volunteers and coaches as well as players. For more information, visit the WAGS website at www.wags411.org.