Little Miss Kickball

How did a vacant lot and a simple game turn into an over 40-year field of dreams for thousands, if not tens of thousands, of girls in Texas?

Though she may not have had that in mind, Shirley Boyd’s answer to the desires of her then 10-year-old daughter became the genesis of what would eventually become Little Miss Kickball International, a highly successful recreational program exclusively for girls.

It all began in Flour Bluff, TX, a small locale within the greater southeast Corpus Christi area. Ms. Boyd was then a receptionist at Flour Bluff High School.

At the time, athletic opportunities for girls were limited, if not nonexistent. Cheri Boyd, the aforementioned 10- year- old daughter of Shirley, wanted to play a sport, but there was nothing suitable to her desires and abilities. Seeing the genuine interest of her daughter to have something in which to participate, Shirley, along with Barbara Miesen, and Marty Caldwell, decided to start a girls-only recreational program around a simple game: kickball.

Kickball?

In their minds, the selection of the game was simple. The basics of kickball were well-understood, making it easy for any girl to play, regardless of age and/or ability.

The Launch of the Laguna League

Thus, in May 1970, the Laguna Little Miss Kickball League was born. With three teams and 30 girls, the league began its first season on that vacant lot (which was near to the Flour Bluff High School).

The inaugural year for the league was not so glorious. Boyd and her co-founders didn’t have much money to spend on the league. Thus, they tried to fill in the gap with home- made versions of needed game equipment. In particular, they tried making their own bases. Sand and pinto beans were the first fillers for bases. The sand often broke loose from bags.

And what of those pinto bean bases?

According to Boyd, when those bases got wet and were placed within a storage shed, the beans sprouted!

Supportive parents and friends helped to pitch in resources, both financial and material, to keep the league moving forward.

Little Miss Goes International

The founders incorporated Little Miss Kickball International, a Texas not-for-profit organization, on March 2nd, 1971.

One Ruler to Rule Them All: Establishing the League Rules

At its heart, while kickball was a fairly simple game then, many informal rule variations existed at that time. Though Boyd searched for any accepted published standards, she could find none. Thus the league settled upon a simple listing of 17 rules, primarily designed to regulate kicking and pitching.

Over the years, that simple sheet of 17 rules has morphed into a full rule book, governing field dimensions, base placement, player eligibility, uniform requirements and standards, pitching, kicking, and acceptable gameplay activity. Before participating in a Little Miss Kickball league today, coaches and umpires must pass a certification test, attesting to their knowledge of the rules.

Spreading the Kickball across Texas: The League Grows

The rules weren’t the only things that expanded. Interest in duplicating the league spread into neighboring cities, moving westward, then eventually migrating both south and northward.

As of 2009, there are seven Texas cities hosting the following 17 Little Miss Kickball leagues: Alice, Ben Bolt, Brownsville North, Central Austin, Corpus Christi United, East Brownsville, Laguna (the original league), Northeast Tarrant, Northwest Austin, Northwest Corpus Christi, Oso, Riverside, Robstown, San Diego, Southside, Tip-O-Tex, and UHO.

Why Is Little Miss Popular?

So what’s the “magic”? Why has this particular brand of a familiar playground game had such staying power? This question is even more relevant, given that the number of athletic opportunities has expanded for girls over the years. Little Miss Kickball season competes against girls’ opportunities in soccer, softball, basketball, and volleyball, and yet it continues to thrive in popularity and players.

What Makes Little Miss Kickball Different?

• Little Miss Kickball is open to any girl, from ages 4 to 18 inclusive, regardless of skill.
• Field dimensions and certain game rules are adjusted per the age group, thus allowing players to learn and play the game at an appropriate pace and skill level.
• Every girl present on game day gets to play at least half of the game.
• Unlike interscholastic sports, a girl’s academic standing is not a requirement for participation.
• The only major material investment for a girl’s involvement is the purchase of non-metal cleats.
• Little Miss Kickball leagues are primarily volunteer- driven. From the umpires, coaches, ground crews to individual league officials, volunteers keep the leagues alive.
• All games are free to the public to attend.

Like many sports, girls learn the value of preparation, skill development, sportsmanship, and teamwork through Little Miss Kickball. Beyond that, because of the low barriers for participation, Little Miss Kickball brings together girls from a variety of backgrounds, helping to create relationships that might not otherwise exist for many of the girls. At the heart of it all, girls can just have fun and feel like they belong. The only limits that exist on a girl’s progress in the sport are the ones she places on herself.

Like its interscholastic counterparts, Little Miss Kickball features a yearly state-wide tournament, taking place at the end of each season, usually in July. The tournament brings together all of the leagues for a time of spirited competition, emotional highs and lows, and memory-making over the course of three days. Yet more than that, the tournament, known as the All-Stars State Tournament, recognizes and rewards hard-working girls with scholarships to further their educational pursuits.

Little Miss for the Not So Little Miss: Kickball Leagues for Women

As a side-effect of Boyd’s original efforts and the endurance of Little Miss Kickball, many players wanted to continue playing into their adult years. This has led to the formation of many adult women’s leagues throughout Texas, some of whom are 25+ years in existence. These leagues often base their rules off of the current Little Miss Kickball rules, thus allowing a smooth transition for players exiting Little Miss Kickball into adult women’s kickball. Women’s leagues have also introduced the possibility of mothers and daughters playing together, thus making kickball even more of a family affair.

The Connection and Heart of Little Miss Kickball

Perhaps this is what makes Little Miss Kickball so special: the family connection that can last for a lifetime. It was this family connection that, in the form of mother and daughter, served as the impetus for Little Miss Kickball. It was Shirley’s connection to her daughter Cheri (who later succumbed to a battle with cancer) that took a simple game and transformed it into an experience that has touched the lives of girls throughout Texas.