With the completion of the Hart High School Varsity Softball Field, it brought up the impact the pandemic has had on all team sports, especially youth.  During the pandemic, team sports became almost non-existent causing isolation and team fragmentation.  In the following years, post-pandemic, there has been a surge in demand for team sports and participation continues to increase as noted by Recreation Management (statistics provided by the 2024 Topline Report)“Notably, in the Team Sports category, 20 of the 24 sports tracked by SFIA showed increases, whereas only five showed increases the previous year. This reflects an overall trend in the United States of strong demand for team sports opportunities, following the forced isolation and breakup of teams during the pandemic period in 2020. The number of team sports participants has now exceeded pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels from 2019.” 

The new softball facility will provide a vital community hub for the girls, fostering unity and connection after a prolonged period of isolation.