Rally caps of glitter: How an all-girls tee ball team in South Walton won over a community

SANTA ROSA BEACH — As the calendar changes from February to March, thousands of Little League teams across the country again gear up for another season.

For the kids, it's a chance to make new friends or see old ones. For parents and coaches, it can bring new memories that will last a lifetime.

For most teams, the winter break remains quiet. But for the all-girls South Walton Glitter Unicorns tee ball team, the offseason was anything but quiet after a coach for a boys team said he'd pull out of the league rather than play the girls. The text message spread like wildfire across social media, leading to overwhelming support for the girls' team and the league.

Behind the glitter

Michelle Brown joined South Walton Little League three years ago as a coach. At the time, there were no girls teams in the league, so her daughter, who was 5, was the only girl competing on a boys team.

According to Brown, it got to the point where her daughter almost lost interest in continuing after being outplayed by the boys.

"This is ridiculous," she said. "Why is there not an all-girls team?"

So Brown jumped into action. She joined the board of directors as the vice president of softball, then went to work growing the softball program. Brown said girls approaching 10 years old would be less likely to begin a new sport, with most of them already engrained in another activity such as soccer, gymnastics or cheerleading. So she aimed younger.

"The best way to build a program is you start little, and that's what I did," Brown said. "I went out, and I found a team of 12 4- and 5-year-olds and started the Glitter Unicorns."

In South Walton, the league doesn't separate girls and boys into softball and baseball until after age 7.

Brown's daughter selected the team name, a departure from what is commonly seen in community ballparks across the country, with team names mostly following Major League Baseball teams, such as the Braves, Yankees or Red Sox.

Brown said that after three years of recruitment, South Walton Little League now has two all-girls tee ball teams that compete against boys — the original Unicorns and the Sea Ponies. The league also has two machine-pitch girls teams — The Slayers and Pink Flamingos — and they only play each other. Then there are four player-pitch softball teams — the Narwhals, Angels, Sharks and Dazzling Dolphins.

"We've got two tee-ball teams now and that's so special," Brown said. "Two years ago, we didn't have any; we didn't have an all-girls team. I just want people to see it, come out and witness it, and then get their kids involved."

The Post

On Feb. 1, South Walton Little League posted a screen capture of a text message conversation between Brown and another South Walton Little League coach.

The post followed an internal conversation in which South Walton Little League members congratulated Brown and the Glitter Unicorns as the league's defending champions. That caught the eye of a fellow coach who didn't like the possibility of losing to an all-girls team.

"I'm not gonna have my boys play a team called the glitter unicorns and probably lose," wrote the unnamed coach in the text message. "I think we are going to pull out of the league, and I will not be coaching. No offense to you, but I don't agree with that."

Brown said this led to outrage from various South Walton Little League officials, prompting the Facebook post. She said the competition level from coaches is probably higher than the kids, who are mostly concerned with being active and living in the moment. She said South Walton Little League President Travis Hamilton and Vice President Kyle Boyer helped her deal with the situation.

"Kids don't see gender, and they don't see color, right? They're so innocent, and if they do, they're taught it," Brown said. "I haven't come across one little boy on another team that feels negatively toward the (Glitter Unicorns)."

When asked about the reaction to the post, Brown said that about 90% of the feedback she and other league officials received was positive. The only negative feedback she has received was from people who thought the text message shouldn't have been shared on social media.

"It was important for people to realize that this isn't okay," Brown said. "We posted to find a coach, and we wanted people to know that if you're going to play Little League, we need you to support not only the boys but also the girls.

"We are trying to grow this program, and it's working," she added. "We've had more softball registrations this season than ever before and I'm really proud of that.

Community comes together

After the Facebook post, many people on social media asked the organization how they could support the Glitter Unicorns and South Walton Little League.

The league started a GoFundMe campaign to support the Glitter Unicorns, and members of the public asked whether merchandise would be available for purchase.

Enter Jeremy Bullock, a salesman from Gary Smith Ford in Fort Walton Beach, who decided to sponsor the Glitter Unicorns for the upcoming season after seeing the Facebook post.

With Bullock's support, not only do the Glitter Unicorns have merchandise available to purchase, but they also have new uniforms, bats, and equipment for the upcoming season.

"The girls flipped out when they saw them," Brown said. "The parents were super excited to see the designs for the parent shirts that he's created. He's gotten us airbrushed helmets, which the girls are going to love. While they might look like bobbleheads on the field, they'll be really cute bobbleheads."

Bullock said the overwhelming positive reaction to the team was amazing to witness. However, he wished everything happened under different circumstances.

"I think it's cool, you know," Bullock said. "I hate the instance in which it had to happen, but I mean, it brought some attention and some support and that's a good thing. That it doesn't matter what race, color, or gender you are, we need to support the kids."

Bullock spearheaded the introduction of merchandise currently on sale. As of Feb. 26, Bullock said that more than $700 was made in merchandise sales, with all proceeds benefiting South Walton Little League either through an end-of-the-year party or a donation to the organization.

If you would like to purchase Glitter Unicorns merchandise, go to https://tinyurl.com/25s4nbve.

The love of the game

As the Glitter Unicorns, Sparkling Sea Ponies and the other teams in South Walton Little League begin their spring season, Brown looks forward to putting a tumultuous offseason behind her.

She said local high school teams have partnered with South Walton Little League for the past two seasons in a "brother/sister program" to help young kids develop their skills, along with the numerous clinics found in Northwest Florida.

As a former player herself, Brown said this involvement from the community has been a way for those who have "aged out" of Little League to stay involved with a game.

"It keeps you in the game when you've aged out," Brown said. "You go into middle school, you go into high school, and you're still supporting those little ones; you're still part of Little League even though you don't have a jersey on."

Although registration for the spring season is now closed, those interested in signing up for the fall can do so in mid-to-late July. Brown said the fall season might be preferable to those with little to no experience as the fall season leans more toward learning the fundamentals of the game.

For more information about South Walton Little League, visit www.sowallball.org.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: After snub, community rallies behind Glitter Unicorns of South Walton