Over the last four decades, softball has been a staple in the town of Garland.
In the 1980s, the Garland Softball League was created, drawing children from across the town to take part. Just ask Michael Spell, one of the committee members and a coach in the league.
“I remember, I’d be in the back of a truck,” Spell recalled about his time playing in the league. “It’d be slammed full of kids and coach would say, ‘If you can’t come, I’m coming to pick you up.’ Then we would be in the truck and the law (officials) would be looking at you with all the kids in the back going to the Garland softball field.”
Over the years, the softball organization was run by both local and county officials before the league stopped operating.
“It started with the town running it,” Todd Marshall, another committee member, explained. “They ran it for years, and then the county took over. They ran it until 2009. Then it sat dormant for about five or six years. I don’t know why the county kind of stopped it around that time. Sampson County Parks and Recreation oversaw it at that point; I’m not sure if they were just focusing on other stuff or what it was.”
Around 2016, with the help of former Garland Commissioner Judy Smith, the league resumed.
“The town got back involved, and we got it going,” Marshall said. “They wanted us to run it, so we run it. The Garland Volunteer Softball League Committee ranges from three to five of us on it roughly. We’re in charge of putting the teams together, getting coaches, lining up sponsorships and taking care of the fields. We’re a nonprofit organization that runs off of sponsorships and donations pretty much. We’ve done that, and the town does the upkeep of the facilities.”
The softball league returned with programs for children and an adult co-ed league. However, lighting issues and other needs eventually brought the adult league to a halt. With new lighting now in place, the co-ed portion will resume for the first time since 2020 on Aug. 31. Registration is required by Aug. 21.
“We had to get the grant money,” Commissioner Sean Melvin explained of the process behind the renovations. “We also had to find three different bidders to help install them; we picked one, and it was just the process of whenever the time was permitted to do it. We hate that it happened during the off-season, but we’re glad to get it done.”
The league adjusted its season this past year to accommodate the work on the lights.
“It fell right in the middle of the season,” Marshall said. “We played a little bit, took a break and then played a little bit more. In the long run, it was the best for all of us.”
Melvin, who also coaches in the league, has overseen the process since the beginning.
“I saw where it came from and where it is now,” Melvin expressed. “I think it’s going to get better.”
The organization prioritizes its youth league, which usually starts when schools are out for the summer.
“This was just giving the kids something to do because there was nothing to do around here,” Spell said. “This is 100 percent about the youngins; that’s what we’re looking for. I think it’s kind of like we’re trying to give them a piece of our (childhoods), of how we were when we were young. They’re all on these phones, computers and other stuff. It’s good for kids to get out there and react to other kids. That’s our thing; getting everybody together. I met one of my best friends at the ball field, so I mean, we just want the youngins to have fun and have something to do during the summer.”
At its peak, the league averaged around 300 participants.
“It would be packed in there when you’d go out there,” Marshall recalled. “You had to park outside out by the street; it was just a big deal at the time to do. You waited around all day to go out there for an hour and play, and then hang out with your buddies most of the time. I know everything has its time and place, but I think there is a place and a good time for the kids to get together like that in the community.”
The number of children participating now is around 100 to 120 per year, with around 10 teams in the league. Organizers said the competition remained close this season. The Young Guns won the 2026 Player Pitch championship, while the Raptors defeated the Braves to become Coach Pitch champions.
“This year was the most balanced,” Melvin emphasized. “It could have gone either way, any game. It wasn’t like there was a team going to blow the team out. You knew that somebody had to come play ball.”
Marshall added to Melvin’s comments.
“That was with both leagues. You want it as even as you can get it. We try to keep our team together from year to year; that way you can kind of grow with those kids,” Marshall explained. “Michael watched his team (Young Guns) from T-ball up to now in coach pitch, and they were dominant. They were tough in coach pitch, the way they worked with them at the time. They were steady with them.”
The youth league for T-ball, coach pitch and player pitch usually begins around the start of summer.
“It all depends on that,” Marshall explained. “This upcoming year, we should be able to start the very first of June, and we normally try to be done with it by July 4 if everything goes right (such as good weather). There are things that you have to factor into the schedule. The adult league, we’re trying to play on nights that we know another league is not playing. We try to work with the coaches and adults to work everything in so it works out fairly for everybody.”
As the league approaches a decade since its 2016 revival, committee members hope it will remain active for the next generation.
“Hopefully it gives the town something to be proud of,” Marshall expressed. “If the kids want to play, we’re going to make it happen. Once we get to the point where we’re done, maybe somebody else will step up and be ready to take it over and keep it going. That’s the biggest thing. I don’t want to see the ballpark sit empty.”
Nearly a decade after its revival, the Garland Softball League continues to offer youth and adults an opportunity to play.