Our History
Where We Came From
The Down East Girls Softball League comes from a long rich history and heritage of women’s athletics dating back to the 1930s and 1940s athletic programs at Down East community high schools of Atlantic, Beaufort, Harkers Island, and Smyrna. Many of our League’s team managers, coaches, and players are descendants of those young female athletes.
One such athlete, Barbara Yeomans, was a pioneer for girls sports in Carteret County. Barbara started what was to become the Down East Girls Softball League in 1988. The league grew from two teams and 22 players to a district filled with five leagues and nearly 700 players by 2000. Barbara and her husband, Ellis, coached the Harkers Island Sluggers to a first-place finish each year during her eight years coaching in the league (1988-1995). The Down East girls became known all over the state and the southeast region for their outstanding play.
The Down East Girls Softball League was the first Babe Ruth Softball League in District 5 (encompassing Carteret, Craven, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties) and one of the first in all of Eastern North Carolina.
Where We Are Now
Down East Girls Softball League is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting all the positive aspects of amateur girls’ softball. The purpose of DEGSL is to share and promote the game of softball, as one of the many possible aspects of a balanced childhood and adolescence. Emphasis is placed on the development of softball skills without sacrificing the enjoyment of playing the game. Our goal is to teach the girls softball fundamentals, help the players build confidence and self-esteem, and to model the characteristics of team play. The coaches are required to promote a high level of sportsmanship, and to lead by positive example. The objective is to implant firmly in the players, the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, courage, and respect for authority, so that they may be well adjusted, stronger and happier, and will grow to be healthy, responsible, and trustworthy adults.Girls and young women from the ages of four (4) through eighteen (18) are eligible to participate in the League. All ages are based on the girls' ages as of January 1st of the current playing season. The girls are placed in divisions as per current BABE RUTH SOFTBALL rules.We are....DOWN EAST!