Overview

The Lancaster/Depew Heat softball tournament travel program is one of the most established and successful programs in Western New York.  The Heat began as and is still an affiliation of the Lancaster/Depew Ponytails Softball League.  The Heat welcomes all eligible girls in the Western New York area to join our organization.  We will strive to create an environment in which young ladies will learn confidence, integrity and respect for the game while at the same time elevating their level of play to the highest caliber possible.  The Heat’s purpose is to be as successful as possible in local and national travel leagues and tournaments.

The tournament/travel age divisions are currently 10u, 12u, 14u, 16u, 18u and 21u.  A player’s eligibility for a particular age group is determined by the girl’s age as of January 1 of the seasonal year.  Girls can begin playing for the Heat at age 9 (though if a girl is deemed to be both physically and emotionally ready for travel ball she may try out for The Heat at age 8). The Heat will try to field at least one team in each age group with a preference of at least two teams (a Senior team, followed by a younger Junior team).

Player tryouts for the Heat usually take place in the month of August prior to the upcoming seasonal year.  There is normally 2-3 tryout dates scheduled per age group and any girl interested in playing for the Heat must attend at least one of the dates.  Although not mandatory, it is suggested that interested players sign up on the league website prior to attending a tryout so that the league knows how many players to expect.