Slow-pitch softball has been issued a new lease on life as several recreation organizations have banded together to offer the sport to high school girls throughout the county.

The Sandy Plains, West Cobb and Kennesaw Girls softball associations will all participate in the program, which aims to keep girls on the field following the elimination of softball as an interscholastic sport in Cobb County.

In 2008, slow-pitch softball was offered by 10 teams in the county and 12 teams in the state. Prior to the 2007 season, the Georgia High School Association eliminated slow-pitch from the sports it endorsed as the number of participating schools had dropped significantly over the past decade.

Greg Viland, president of the Sandy Plains Softball Association, said many girls would switch to another sport or stop playing altogether if it were not for this coalition.

"Now that they got rid of (slow-pitch in high schools), there are a bunch of girls that are not playing softball anymore because everything has been grinding toward fast-pitch softball," Viland said. "What we found is a lot of very talented girls could play fast-pitch, but they have more fun playing slow-pitch. And there are also some girls that are great slow-pitch players that might not do great in fast-pitch."

Currently, each of the three softball organizations offer slow-pitch for all ages as a recreational sport, but high school girls typically do not participate because their schools allowed them to play the sport at a varsity level. By shifting the sport from the schools to the independent organizations, slow-pitch softball will no longer have the varsity distinction given by the schools, the girls will be able to team up with others from the same school and continue to play the sport they love.

Because players must try out for the teams - as they would for a high school-sponsored sport - the program aims for the highest level of competition available. Viland hopes to see at least 12 teams participate in the first fall season. If demand is high, the program may also be offered in the spring as well.

Right now, the focus is on Cobb schools, though one Paulding County program may cross the county line to participate in the West Cobb organization.

"We are trying to focus on girls who have played slow-pitch throughout their lives and may not like fast-pitch," Viland said. "They may try some other sport like lacrosse or cheerleading or whatever else, but if slow-pitch is something they really like and want to do, we want them to have that option even though the high schools dropped the program. That is what we are trying to pick up the slack for."

Girls who attend Pope, Kell, Lassiter, Sprayberry, Walton and Wheeler will play their games out of Sandy Plains Park, while the West Cobb and Kennesaw Girls associations will cater to schools in their areas. While some crossover games may occur, the players would not have to travel far for the majority of their games or for practices.

Games and practices would be scheduled during the week, much as they were when schools offered the sport.

An end-of-season tournament is also being planned.

"We're still trying to get all the kinks worked out," said Matt Miller, president of the Kennesaw Girls Softball Association. "The girls still have a want for both programs - fast-pitch and slow-pitch. Putting it in the parks takes the funding off of (the schools) and that is why they let it go."

While the recreation leagues are catering to specific schools, West Cobb Girls Softball vice president Jeff Insley said they aren't working directly with the schools.

"We haven't had much response at all from the schools," he said. "We shot out an e-mail to all the girls that have played in our organization and should be high-school age and we got a good response from that."

Sign-ups and evaluations for players around Sandy Plains will be held this weekend, and players must attend at least one of the sessions. The first evaluation will be Saturday at 5 p.m. at Bells Ferry Park, while the second will be Sunday at 5 p.m. at Sandy Plains Park.

The fee to participate is $120 and includes a uniform. More information can be found at www.sandyplainsoftball.com.

The West Cobb Softball Association, which features McEachern, Hillgrove, Harrison, Allatoona, as well as an overall Paulding County team, will hold signups on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lost Mountain Park gymnasium. The cost to participate is $55. Tryouts will only be held if there is an overwhelming response from a particular school.

The Kennesaw Girls Softball Association will field teams from Kennesaw Mountain, Allatoona and North Cobb, but has not yet scheduled sign-ups or tryouts. So far, they have just been finding players through word of mouth.

"I didn't expect such a huge (response)," Miller said. "It's been bigger than I expected. I think we're going to have a pretty big out-pouring."

Miller said Cobb County School District athletic coordinator Steve Jones and former Kennesaw Mountain slow-pitch coach Connie Bailey have been instrumental in reaching potential players and coaches.

"I guess they're accepting it," Miller said. "So that's a good thing."