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Dugout Dolls Celebrate 10th Anniversary by Expanding to Edwardsburg

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It all started out a decade ago with two gals with a trunk full of buckets filled with softballs, and has grown into a substantive enterprise featuring 14 coaches, hundreds of student clients, and weekly training sessions for athletes from every community in Michigan’s Great Southwest, and spilling beyond into Northern Indiana reaching from Crown Point to Ann Arbor.

They call themselves The Dugout Dolls, and their powerhouse domination in softball training has brought on sparkling success since day one.

Now, The Dugout Dolls, anchored in Niles, are marking their 10th anniversary in business by expanding to a second location in Edwardsburg.

Founder Trish Gardini says, “ Our impact is deeper than softball IQ,” adding, “We never expected to create an environment where rivals willingly train with one another, where life skills are the topic of conversation and an integral part of the community education, or creating friendships between families that have lasted a decade! We want to empower young women in our community by supporting them mentally, physically and spiritually. The mood in the Dollhouse is always electric. Parents, athletes, staff, and spectators feed into the energy. We are family- competitors train together and leave as friends. It’s a unique environment where everyone has a hand in dollhouse upkeep, curriculum, and successes.”

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Dugout Dolls offers year-round group lessons in the areas of fastpitch softball pitching and hitting. Throughout the year the Dolls host several specialty clinics such as catching academy, defense academy, as well as slap & speed. The Doll staff is composed of top talent coaches with collegiate playing experience, area businessmen & women, retired sheriff/county policemen, college coaches and more to bring clients the latest and greatest tips and tricks to help them achieve their softball goals.

Amber Layman, Head Curriculum Director and Hitting Coach, says, “The COVID pandemic unfortunately impacted many leagues around the area and they were forced to cancel their seasons. We were able to quickly come together and created a summer curriculum in order to service these families. Gals from ages 6-to-12 are running through a 12-week skills progression program taught by current Dugout Doll student ambassadors. We have a group of high school age Dolls working with the baby dolls. It warms my heart to see peer-to-peer coaching. The littles love working with the big girls. It brings a totally different dynamic to the experience.”

What is referred to as #DugoutDollNation is more than the coaches, kids, and families; it is a community of rec coaches, travel coaches, high school coaches, and college contacts. Layman says, “In the summer, we go outdoors to bring a different dynamic to our lessons. We have also formed partnerships with area high schools and/or parks in exchange for a donation to their programs. We are honored to get to work with these programs which has resulted in conference, district, regional, and state championship teams! In addition, a majority of our high school gals go on to compete at the college level. While we know that this isn’t always everyone’s endgame, we know that the bonus of potentially sending a first generation college athlete to school for free brings a new level of pride to area families.”

Layman is proud of the work ethic built into the team, saying, “Our staff attends annual coaching conventions and conferences in order to learn from the best and brightest college coaches from around the country. The game changes each year as equipment technology is introduced as well as increased participation rates. The conferences are not only learning opportunities for staff but also networking opportunities. We are able to connect with college coaches, top instructors, and other trainers to help propel our collective knowledge forward.”

The Dugout Dolls training facility, affectionately referred to as The Dollhouse, is located in Niles, however they are breaking ground on a second facility which is slated to open in the Fall of 2020 in Edwardsburg.

The Edwardsburg Fieldhouse is a 21,000 Square Foot Turfed Facility with 30 foot ceilings that will allow area baseball and softball organizations to better train their athletes. Founder Gardini says, “Proper practice facilities can take programs from competitive to elite,” and adds, “We wanted to finally give our area a proper training facility for elite athletes. Giving them a chance to train 52-weeks a year, in a facility large enough to push them to the next level.” She concludes, “We felt that Edwardsburg was a perfect location for this new facility, as it will be able to service Northern Indiana, Granger & Michiana as well. While our focus has never shifted off of Southwest Michigan, we want to be able to give our Indiana athletes the same opportunities that our very lucky Michigan athletes have always had.”

The Dugout Dolls have received several forms of recognition in recent years:

  • In 2019, the Dugout Dolls were recognized as one of the “20 Best Places to Work in Southwest Michigan” from Moody on the Market:

https://www.moodyonthemarket.com/dugout-dolls-named-to-20-best-places-to-work-in-swm/

  • Trish Gardini was recognized as a member of the inaugural class of the Moody on the Market 40 Under 40 Young Professionals in SW Michigan in 2018:

https://www.moodyonthemarket.com/trish-gardini/

  • Dugout Dolls were featured on WNIT Public TV’s Education Counts Michiana program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nwgeZBGb0g

  • In 2016 the “Game Changers” Award was given to Trish Gardini for people positively impacting and inspiring the community, and highlighted in Michiana Life magazine for the ground breaking work they do helping raise fierce lady warriors.

You can learn more about #DugoutDollNation by visiting their website at this link:  http://www.dugoutdolls.com

You can also follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DugoutDolls

The photo of Amber Layman (left) and Trish Gardini (right) accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is courtesy of Dugout Dolls.