GLEN CARBON - Father McGivney Catholic, which has enjoyed success in its athletic programs in its young history, will expand the program in the spring of 2021, adding girls softball to the Griffins' lineup.
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The school will start out with a junior varsity schedule in the spring, and plans to move up to a full varsity schedule in the spring of 2022.
The addition of a softball team is the culmination of planning by the school in recent years.
"It's been in the making for the last few year," said McGivney athletic director Jeff Oller. "I think we have the interest, and the other things aligned to get the program started."
The school has started its search to hire a coach for the team, and will conduct the search to find the best qualified candidate for the job.
"We just opened the position (Thursday)," Oller said, "and hopefully, we'll get someone in place by the end of the summer."
Oller is very excited to get the program started, and knows there's plenty of interest from potential players for the team.
"We're very excited to get the programs started," Oller said. "There's a lot of interest from the girls at school."
As far as a potential home ballpark, everything is open for the moment, but eventually, the Griffins plan on playing on campus in the future.
"It's a fluid situation right now," Oller said about a potential home, "but eventually, we'll have a field right by the baseball field."
The school's baseball field was recently completed, and is set to host games on campus beginning next season.
Oller is looking forward to the support the team will have, and the players do have softball experience, which will help tremendously.
"It'll be great to go out and compete this year," Oller said. "We actually have a good amount of softball experience. The girls have had success on club teams, and many of the girls also played recreational softball growing up."
Although the season will be classified as a junior varsity season, the Griffins schedule will include some varsity teams as well, with the long-term goal of growing interest in the program.
"As the program grows, like our other programs, we just want to keep improving," Oller said, "and get more girls interested in the program."
Oller feels that the addition of the softball program at Father McGivney is a very positive move that gives the entire athletic department a big boost, and he feels optimistic about the program's success.
"We are," Oller said. "I think the school's in a position where we can support this team, and we're also happy to provide another opportunity for our students."
