Sal Jackson Softball Complex
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1871881256206725
Sally Jackson has moved on and we want to build on her legacy if you want to help out. We are aiming for her very own Field of Dreams. A road is being constructed in east Valley that wiped two of the girls softball fields away. And the fields that are there do not reflect the work Sally did to build up the thriving league. Our pipe dream is to raise donations to build a first class softball complex in the Spokane Valley and dedicate it to Sally Jackson.
“I was the first woman coach and I kicked a lot of ass,” she said in the straight-forward, salty vernacular she is known for. “The other coaches used to hate to see me coming.” Sal learned to coach and love the game of baseball through Ron Jackson, her husband of 57 years. “He was playing professional baseball when we got married and he taught me everything I know about coaching,” she said.
For forty years, up until 4 years ago, Ron and Sal coached generation after generation of boys in Pee Wee’s, Midgets, Babe Ruth and American Legion leagues. That alone had more of an impact on young Valley lives than most of us will ever make. But in terms of just summer sports it was one of her smaller contributions. Think of all the girls in the Valley who play softball each summer, then think Sal Jackson, then think impact on Valley youth. Until she decided to start the Girls Softball League in the Valley over 50 years ago, there was no such opportunity.
“That really makes me feel good to go over there and see all those cars in the parking lot and all those kids playing softball and their families cheering them on,” she said, adding that she organized the league and taught coaching clinics. “I just always loved baseball and hard pitch, but I thought the girls should have a chance too.”
“I’ve always stayed involved to this day because I wanted to make sure that every girl who wanted to play, whether their family could afford it or not, was able to play. No kid is turned away because of money,” she said, explaining that the league has achieved that accomplishment and is so carefully run that starting this year it will begin awarding scholarships to be named “The Sally Jackson Scholarship.” That, she said, makes her very happy.
We want to go one step further and leave a lasting monument that matches the contribution Sally Jackson has made to the thousands of lives she’s impacted.
Sally Jackson has moved on and we want to build on her legacy if you want to help out. We are aiming for her very own Field of Dreams. A road is being constructed in east Valley that wiped two of the girls softball fields away. And the fields that are there do not reflect the work Sally did to build up the thriving league. Our pipe dream is to raise donations to build a first class softball complex in the Spokane Valley and dedicate it to Sally Jackson.
“I was the first woman coach and I kicked a lot of ass,” she said in the straight-forward, salty vernacular she is known for. “The other coaches used to hate to see me coming.” Sal learned to coach and love the game of baseball through Ron Jackson, her husband of 57 years. “He was playing professional baseball when we got married and he taught me everything I know about coaching,” she said.
For forty years, up until 4 years ago, Ron and Sal coached generation after generation of boys in Pee Wee’s, Midgets, Babe Ruth and American Legion leagues. That alone had more of an impact on young Valley lives than most of us will ever make. But in terms of just summer sports it was one of her smaller contributions. Think of all the girls in the Valley who play softball each summer, then think Sal Jackson, then think impact on Valley youth. Until she decided to start the Girls Softball League in the Valley over 50 years ago, there was no such opportunity.
“That really makes me feel good to go over there and see all those cars in the parking lot and all those kids playing softball and their families cheering them on,” she said, adding that she organized the league and taught coaching clinics. “I just always loved baseball and hard pitch, but I thought the girls should have a chance too.”
“I’ve always stayed involved to this day because I wanted to make sure that every girl who wanted to play, whether their family could afford it or not, was able to play. No kid is turned away because of money,” she said, explaining that the league has achieved that accomplishment and is so carefully run that starting this year it will begin awarding scholarships to be named “The Sally Jackson Scholarship.” That, she said, makes her very happy.
We want to go one step further and leave a lasting monument that matches the contribution Sally Jackson has made to the thousands of lives she’s impacted.
Organizer
Casey Jackson
Organizer
Spokane, WA