The holidays are a time of being with family and friends, but not everyone will be having a joyful season.
As we noted yesterday in the #9 story in our 2022 Stories of the Year series—Mental & Emotional Health Pressures Lead to Anxiety, Depression & Even Suicides in Young Athletes (Dec. 23, 2022)—mental and emotional health continues to be a sobering topic, even in our wonderful sport of softball.
Bill Littler, the Social Media and Team Promotion Director for the Team Pennsylvania organization, has created a network in his area called the Beaver County Softball Network which will live stream games for youth and high school softball as well as produce “Small Ball” podcasts, with the first one to air on Sunday, Christmas Day.
Explains Bill:
“Richele Hall—the Team PA President and current Team PA 16U Head Coach—has a poignant story to tell and she wants everyone to see it in the first episode of the Beaver County Softball Network Small Ball Podcast series.”
This series kickoff introduces the travel ball leader and will also cover her relationship with former Team PA catcher Lauren Bernett, who went on to become a star softball player at James Madison “whose life ended way too soon” as detailed in this Extra Inning Softball articles from earlier this year (click on the links to access them):
- James Madison Catcher Lauren Bernett Dies (April 26, 2022)
- James Madison’s 2022 Season Officially Over Following Lauren Bernett’s Passing (May 2, 2022)
As the main subject of this podcast, Coach Richele will explain how she plans to spread Mental Health Awareness through the LB22 Legacy.
This powerful episode will be released on Sunday, December 25th at 7 pm EST on the Beaver County Softball Network channel on YouTube… click HERE to see the podcast.
You can also follow the network, which will stream the LB22 Invitational Tournament held Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, on its website by clicking HERE.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
