Women with a passion for the sport of softball but don’t want the intense pressure that comes with playing an NCAA sport join UNG’s Women’s Softball Club.

The club was formed in the Fall of 2013 by Gabrielle Niemczyk, the club’s current president. Niemczyk played softball her entire life and wanted to continue into her college career. 

“Many people who were in the club when it first started are still friends with other team players. None of them are in college anymore, everyone has graduated, but they’ve remained great friends and would have never met otherwise. I’m a science major, and I would have never met Taylor or Kate, who are Criminal Justice majors, if I just stayed within the realm of my major, or just went to school and did nothing else,” said Niemczyk. 

The club is in the South West Atlantic Conference. Other schools within the same conference are Clemson University, University of Georgia, Auburn University, Georgia College, University of Tennessee, and Kennesaw State University. The clubs from each school deliberate with each other to schedule games throughout the semester. 

UNG has scheduled their first game of the semester against UGA on Oct. 9 at home. They will also be competing in a tournament called PeachState in Columbus, Georgia, against various colleges in the region on the weekend of Oct. 22. After that, they are to play AU on Nov. 13 in Auburn. More games are scheduled for the spring semester. 

If the club wins a majority of their conference games, they will compete in regionals and nationals and contend with teams across the nation. 

The team practices four times a week with a once-a-week team bonding event. Some of the team’s activities are bonfire movie night, apple picking, and ice skating. 

“The club’s goal is, of course, to work hard and win games. But we also want to form bonds and establish sisterhood. So team bonding events are just as important as practices. Having a strong connection as a team really shows on the field,” said Taylor King, Vice President. 

“It’s allowed me to improve my work ethic, which will benefit me in the future. I’m very thankful for this club.” -Taylor King

The club won Softball Club of the Year in 2016, Community Service Sport Club in 2017, Softball Club of the Year in 2020, and Blue and Gold award for Most Improved Club in 2021.

“My first semester, I was just a player, and you don’t realize how much time, effort, and work go into this club to make sure it goes smoothly. So moving from a player to the executive board opened my eyes to how much responsibility this takes. And how strong of a person you have to be to be on the board. It’s allowed me to improve my work ethic, which will benefit me in the future. I’m very thankful for this club,” said King.