The Nelson Baseball Association is piloting an all-girls only baseball program this spring in honour of late coach Amanda Asay.

The program, open to girls ages 7-10, comes as the association picked up on interest in the sport in Nelson appears to have spiked among younger prospects.

“It made our organization believe there was enough local interest to build a team,” said Nelson Baseball Association President Jay Stewart.

As of last week, only a few spots remained after the spots began filling up right after registration opened. Stewart credited the interest in the program to the line-up of qualified trainers like Fruitvale’s Allison Schroeder, who both plays on the national women’s baseball team.

“I’d be very hard pressed to imagine who else you could put in front of a young impressionable girl and say ‘hey, this person has done everything you could do in baseball in this country,” Stewart said.

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