Will this new travel softball organization boost the potential of Erie-area players?

Has the future of youth softball in Erie just arrived?

Meet 814 Elite Fastpitch, the area’s newest travel softball team. Formed by the minds behind Erie Frost and Cambridge Crush, the merger hopes to create an unrivaled opportunity for local talent.

With an emphasis on player and coaching development — especially from non-parental sources — 814 Elite will strive to combat the “watered down” state that organizers feel Erie-area softball has fallen into. The non-profit’s board of directors boasts seven highly regarded softball minds, and with a potential pool of more than 100 players, their vision seeks a softball solution for each one.

“We can do better for our girls,” said Maureen Wolfe, who will be the president of 814 Elite. “So much time and effort has already been put into this; it’s really a shared vision.”

Why a new softball organization?

Wolfe has been involved with travel softball since 2007.

In that time, the former McDowell varsity boss of 15 years and her 814 Elite colleagues observed a growing number of local travel programs. In a market of Erie’s size, however, top-level players were diluted across various teams and intra-squad competition was limited.

In forming a new organization, 814 Elite took the lead of Brian Sanders, who coaches Erie Frost 2007 Premier. Born during the pandemic, this Frost team has challenged itself to reach new competition levels, and in doing so has accumulated many of Erie’s top players in the graduating classes of 2025 and 2026.

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“It was no longer about winning medals and trophies,” said Sanders, who will serve alongside Angie Mumford as co-vice presidents of 814 Elite. “It became about playing the absolute best competition to change their normal, so that facing the elite of the elite every time they step on the field becomes their new normal.”

Wolfe, Sanders and Mumford will be joined on 814 Elite board of directors by treasurer Ray Kraus, secretary Abby Sallot, pitching instructor Greg Evans and player evaluator Kelli (Rohan) Reese. The group boasts more than 80 years of combined softball experience and feels, by pooling its resources, it can create the best possible program for rising players in Erie.

“If they’re looking to get recruited for college, we want to make sure that happens,” said Mumford, who coaches the Cambridge Springs varsity team and started the Cambridge Crush travel program 11 years ago. “If they’re looking for playing time to get better for their high school season, we want that too. We want to provide the best for all girls.”

How will it work?

Sanders’ Frost team is full of players with college scholarship intentions. That isn’t the case for all, however, and 814 Elite wants to equally assist lower-level players.

Two teams will eventually be established for each age group — premier and regional. They’ll play opponents of different skill levels but will be conjoined by the idea of playing competition slightly better than themselves, with the goal being to improve as a result.

Frost 2007 Premier traversed a year of growing pains with this strategy, but it paid off once its athletes reached high school, as they were hardly intimidated by a level of play inferior to what they saw on the travel circuit.

College is hardly a concern for 10- or 12-year-olds. But playing in high-level tournaments at that age prepared them for the events they’ll now attend to be seen by college coaches.

Some 814 Elite teams will begin play this fall once rosters are determined and all will practice during the winter offseason, which runs November through April. Weekly practices are planned for that period at Gannon University's Recreation and Wellness Center; they'll be accompanied by scrimmages and practice at various sites that cater to the location of players.

In-season travel, Wolfe said, will be limited mostly to drives of two hours or less.

“(Cambridge Crush) sees this as taking the next step,” Mumford said. “We’ve always had big dreams, and by combining the organizations, we’ve not only joined facilities, but have expanded our knowledge base.”

There are multiple benefits to a larger player pool.

First, it will allow 814 Elite to draw substitute players from within. When a player is needed, they’ll be able to pull from their organization’s pool instead of importing a player from Pittsburgh, Cleveland or wherever they can find one.

An expanded pool of players will also curb complacency and encourage continuity. With multiple teams at each level, players won’t need to seek a new organization if they don’t make the roster they’d intended, and 814 Elite intends to fluidly develop each player based on their changing goals and interests.

“We can create a model where there is constant internal competition for every kid at every level,” Sanders said. “That encourages them to work hard and get better, and to not get relaxed.”

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An emphasis on coaching

Wolfe’s team sees the same local problem with coaches as it does with players — too many of them diluted across too many organizations. That’s why coaching development will be equally as important to 814 Elite as development of players.

The organization wants non-parents leading and evaluating its athletes and will restrict direct parent contact during tryouts. Player development and coaching development committees will be established to ensure everyone is where they need to be.

“We are doing this because we love the sport, and want girls to have the opportunities we had, but better,” Wolfe said. “The main goal of this is to provide the best chance for player and coaching development in the area.”

Several tryout sessions will be held at sites yet to be named: July 24-26 in Erie County, Aug. 1-3 in Crawford County and Aug. 13 at a neutral location. The group will also offer private tryouts upon request.

More information on 814 Elite can be found on the organization’s website, 814elite.com.

“I am blown away by the amount of experience and knowledge that we were able to bring together over the last six months and want to work as one,” Sanders said. “When you look at the board of directors and their resumes, I’m just appreciative that we can come together with one common goal. When you utilize all this experience and knowledge, the opportunity for girls is tremendous.”

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Contact Jeff Uveino at juveino@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter@realjuveino.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: 814 Elite Fastpitch aims to elevate travel softball in Erie, PA region