Update
7/23/08
FUNDRAISER
Added the day, sorry.  Hey I knew when it going to happen.

We will be having a car wash at Auto Zone 834 E. Euclid as a way to raise funds to rebuild the Softball Complex
Saturday July 26, 2008 10AM - 4PM
$$$ donations accepted
Thank You!

Fall Ball
Team entry forms and information related to the program is available at www.MIGSoftball.org 

We look forward to an exciting fall season!!!

Updated 7/2/08
To give a little perspective of the flood of '08.

Things are looking up and up
It's starting to look like a ball park again!!!

This was Saturday June 28, 2008




This was Tuesday June 17, 2008





This was Friday June 13, 2008

We are hopeful that the waters will recede and we can get back into the complex this coming Saturday June 21 starting at 9AM to begin the clean up process.
If you have the time we can use the help.  Brink a broom and a rake and we will get the park cleaned up so we can look to putting some closure on the 2008 League seasons both for the Bam Bam teams and the other divisions.  Plans are in the works for closing ceremonies, more to come on that.  We will be in contact with everyone as those plans come together.

I want to thank everyone that was able to make it out on June 10th as I think we were very successful in saving as much as we could.  Once we are able to get in the park which we hope will be by Thursday or Friday we will have a better view of the extent of the damage.

06/11/08

The Floods of '08
It's official, games called due to Mother Nature and this relentless rain!
With some hard work by some dedicated volunteers, we were able to get all of the mowers, field rake, gator, all of the inventory of the concession stand, all the appliances and everything up out of harms way in the new garage or in the rafters of the other garage.  So far the picture above taken at about 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning shows the extent of the flooding.  With the release of more water over the emergency spillway at Saylorville Lake, it will get deeper.  No one is allowed in the flooded area and Polk County Sheriff's department is being vigilant about anyone coming into the area.  They let me past only because Morningstar Drive was not covered at this time, that may change.

I want to give a huge THANK YOU!!! to all the people that came down on Tuesday after I put out the call for help.  It looks like we saved everything of value that wasn’t nailed down and will be able to put the pieces back together once the flooding subsides.

We are also sorry to say that the upcoming 10 & Under Flower Classic Softball Tournament will be cancelled for this weekend.  Nancy will be in touch with each team.  We will make every effort to see if we can reschedule the event.
As far as League ball and Bam Bam ball, stay tuned.  I am hopeful that the flooding will subside quickly and we will be able to get back into the park and assess the damage.

Again thanks so much for everyone that was able to help out yesterday and also a big THANK YOU to the employers of our volunteers to allow their employees to take the time off to come evacuate everything out of the complex.

Here are a few more pictures
Tuesday Evening June 10, 2008
Picture 1
Picture 2

Wednesday Morning June 11, 2008
Picture 3
Picture 4

4/2/08
Received an interesting email today that I thought should be shared with parents and players.
Here is their message:
Good Afternoon, I am Sara Sortino, the National Safety Specialist for Emask.  Emask is the world’s fastest growing sports safety manufacturer today.  I have retrieved your information from an ASA website.  With such a demand for our products in your area, I have taken the time to email you today because it is our company’s mission to make sure that every team, league, and association is as safe as possible.

                Being a former college athlete, I find that the safety of the players is the most important aspect of youth sports.  Coaches, players, and parents are realizing that the wire cage facemasks are old technology, and very unsafe.  As a player, I was hit in the face by a pitch when wearing no protective face mask.  I dislocated and fractured  my jaw.  In the same game, a teammate was hit in the face by a pitch while wearing a wire cage mask.  She suffered a mandibular fracture to her lower jaw.  The part of the jaw not protected by the wire masks.

                The “Emask” not only protects all parts of the face, it is also a light weight, clear plastic face mask, made from polycarbonate material.  The same material used to make bullet proof glass.  Please take some time to check out our website, www.emasksales.com.  It shows a video of 2-time All American, and Team USA player, Sarah Fekete, getting hit in the face by a pitch, and talking about how the Emask has benefited her in her career, along with our other safe products.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sara Sortino
National Safety Specialist
Emask

Locally the distributor of this product is Harrison's Sports in Ankeny 963-9717 and also in South Ridge 256-1669.
According to Jerod at the Ankeny store they carry the Emask for the following helmets:
Wilson - A5240, A5250, A 5256
Shutt - 2794
Nike - BP0032ETN
Rawlings - Cool Flow - CFBH

One other point is the Emask is NOCSAE approved.

This is not an endorsement for or against this product, it is simply information for you to use in making your sport safety decisions.
North Des Moines Girls Softball doesn't receive any compensation for providing this information.

1/24/08
Nancy asked me to place the entry forms for the 12U, 14U, and 10U Tournaments on the site.  See the tournament section below.  We look forward to the visitors to the complex and hope you enjoy your visit to Central Iowa!

UPDATED 4/23/08
Nancy tells me that all the tournaments are closed!
For those of you that were not able to get in the event we are sorry, try back next year.
Those of you coming to the complex we look forward to you coming out for another exciting weekend of softball in Des Moines!  We will post the schedule here as we get closer to the date.

The 2008 Tournament Dates are set!
Look for the entry form here after the first of the year.
We look forward to seeing teams that have been with us in years past as well as new faces.  We think we offer a great venue for teams to work on skills, coaches to experiment with players in second or third positions and some great food from the grill.

2008 Tournament Dates
contact Nancy Wadle for more information

12 & Under Memorial Day Match - Up
May 23 - 25
2008 12U Memorial Day Match Up Entry Form

14 & Under Flower Power Classic
June 6 - 8
2008 14U Flower Power Classic Entry Form

10 & Under Flower Power Classic
June 14 - 15
2008 10U Flower Power Classic Entry Form

5/25/07
UPDATE

During the 2007 tournaments you may have noticed some photographers out on the fields.  They are sanctioned by North Des Moines Girls Softball and they have been photographing sporting events for over three years.  They will have action photos available for purchase while you are here this weekend and if you'd like, here is the link to their web site.
http://www.instantactionphotos.com/

We hope you enjoy the memories!

2/19/06
Don't forget players and parents, North Des Moines Girls Softball requires the batting helmets to have facemasks as well as chin straps.  There a number of choices so if you are adding a facemask to your helmet you will want to take it to the store with you to make sure you get one that fits properly.  Players will not be able to play if they don't have one.  Rules are rules.

Mid Iowa Girls Softball

As one of the Host Leagues, NDMGS provides our six fields and opens the concession stand for the teams that are formed from across the metro and Central Iowa and some a bit further to have a quality complex to play some softball and be able to get a snack.  Thanks for participating in our program.  
Mid Iowa Girls Softball was formed seven years ago and has continued a tradition of providing an opportunity for teams interested in some softball in the fall!  A loose confederation of seven host leagues, NDMGS, South Des Moines Girls Softball, Raccoon Valley Girls Softball, West Des Moines Girls Softball, Urbandale Girls Recreation Association, Indianola Girls Softball and Ankeny Girls Softball work to provide a schedule of games for those interested in more softball!  A big thank you goes out to each league for the efforts they go through getting their complexes ready each and every playing date.
Each Host League goes about forming teams that are made up of players from their Spring programs a little bit different as there are no set guidelines that M.I.G.S. has regarding this as the entry into Fall Ball is by Team entry.
North Des Moines Girls Softball does not go through a formal registration and sign up process rather, individuals make a decision to coach a team and go about finding players from the program to play on their team themselves.

  See the MIGSoftball.org site for the Fall Ball entry forms and information concerning the 2008 fall season.

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