Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Minnesota American Legion launching summer fastpitch for girls next summer
Minnesota American Legion announced Thursday it will begin offering fastpitch softball for girls in 2022. The launch was approved at the Legion’s Minnesota Executive Committee during an Aug. 7 meeting.
“Fastpitch softball is near and dear to my heart,” Minnesota American Legion Commander Tom Fernlund said in a statement. “It will be an opportunity to provide an activity for young women in the summer, a time when many communities have baseball for the boys but nothing for the girls.”
Mike Arvidson, a special education teacher and member of the Sons of the American Legion out of Parkers Prairie, will the program director. Arvidson, who championed the softball effort, had been on the Legion’s baseball committee since 2016 but will take a year off to start softball. Minnesota’s Legion baseball program is the largest in the nation.
“It is my hope that Legion Softball in Minnesota becomes as big as Legion Baseball,” Arvidson said in a statement.
Registration will open after Jan. 1. For more information, contact Director Arvidson at michaelarvidson@hotmail.com.
