To say that it’s been a busy week for Steve Jensen of Marysville is probably the biggest understatement of the season. The softball season, that is.
Jensen, the youth fast-pitch director of the National Softball Association of Washington, is having fun volunteering his time and efforts to the Western World Series.
“Everything is going great,” he said.
For the past few weeks, Jensen has been in charge of getting Washington teams to participate in the tournament, which features girls 9 to 18 years old.
There are 200 teams in the state, and 55 of them will play in Snohomish County this week. The other 105 teams in the tournament are from California, Nevada, Oregon and Canada.
Now that the events are in full swing, Jensen acts as a tournament director.
“It is a volunteer position,” Jensen said. The only time he gets paid is when he runs his own tournaments. Even then, he puts the money he makes back into the association.
Jensen is a stay-at-homefather of two children and runs his own business in Monroe. He’s an early riser with a big to-do list.
During the tournament, Jensen has to get to one of the softball sites in Marysville, Everett, Monroe or Lynnwood by 7:30 a.m. He spends the day making sure things are running smoothly, people are where they should be – anything to make the tournament a success.
His volunteer time includes being in charge of making sure the bracket is updated so everyone knows who’s playing whom. He answers questions and checks with the grounds crew. He might deal with a coach problem one minute and something else the next.
“It’s the unknown,” Jensen said.
He gets home around 7:30 p.m., at which time he needs to update the NSA Web site.
“It’s 10 or 11 before I’m done,” he said.
More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the tournament this week, and having volunteers and local companies donate their time and expertise is critical.
“When you are bringing enough people here to be called the largest sporting event to be held in Snohomish County ever, it’s vital,” said Lou Davis of Marysville. “Otherwise, it would be a madhouse.”
The effort to bring the tournament to Snohomish County started in August 2003 for Davis, who is a National Softball Association umpire and chief of the Western United States division.
He contacted the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau and invited it to bid on having the tournament here. Fields were secured by spring. Davis and others then set about finding tournament directors for each site, umpires and a housing agent for the many people coming to the area.
Members of the Snohomish County Umpire Association are volunteering many hours beyond their usual umpire jobs, Davis said.
All the hard work is worth the effort for Jensen, who is having fun as well as working hard.
“The reward is when you see all these kids with a smile on their faces having a fun time, when they leave at the end of the night and say, ‘Wow that was an awesome tournament,’ and want to come back,” Jensen said.
Reporter Christina Harper: 425-339-3491 or harper@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
