University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Griffith
Julz Garber Hones Skills Over Summer at Florida Gulf Coast League
10/5/2021 10:00:00 AM | Softball
There are college baseball summer leagues all over the country, but there is only one college softball league – the Florida Gulf Coast League.
The league started in 2020 with six teams, before growing to 10 this past summer. Each squad featured around 14 players, totaling close to 140 for the entire league.
One of those players was current Blue Hen sophomore outfielder Julz Garber.
Garber's team was based out of Brandenton, Fla., and while games were played in the Sarasota Softball Complex. Players were either asked to join a team, or could apply on their own. However the league turned down over 50 applicants due to it being the only summer league for current college softball players.
Julz's sister, Hanna, a current junior on the Blue Hens, was asked to play, but had to drop out due to an injury. However the team that Hanna was set to play with had another player get injured, so Julz was asked to join the squad.
"The competition was obviously really good," said Garber, a CAA All-Rookie Team selection at Delaware last spring. "There were girls from all over the country, girls who had just come off playing in the NCAA Tournament. So the competition wasn't going to be any higher, since there was nowhere else for everybody to play."
The league featured almost exclusively Division I players, with Garber's team including players from Colorado State, Campbell, Elon, Wichita State, Presbyterian and Stetson. The competition level helped elevate her game.
"It was really cool, I'd never had an opportunity like that to play against girls who were that good," she remarked. "I saw consistently good pitching, which really helped."
The season was six weeks long, with games held six days a week. A double elimination championship followed to wrap up the season. Games were normally played at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., allowing Garber time in the afternoon to return to the hitting facility to work on her skills, before then heading to the pool or beach.
"It was a lot of games, but it was nice because if I needed to work on something, here (at UD) you just play a weekend and a midweek, and you have all those days off. But there, you had to turn around the next day and make adjustments, so it was really beneficial," she explained. "Our team had four outfielders so we had a little bit of a rotation, but if you're not in the field, you're still in the lineup hitting. So I played pretty much every day."
"My expectations were that I'm just going to get better. I could go and strike out every at bat, and I would still get better because I'm seeing great pitching and just getting reps," Garber said.
Garber, however, did not strikeout every at bat. In fact, she posted a batting average near .350 which ranked second on her team, and subsequently received an opportunity to play in the All-Star Game.
Additionally, some of the Olympic softball teams were in the area preparing for the Tokyo Games, and Garber's squad had the chance to play against Team Canada.
"That was a really cool experience," she said.
Garber, who stayed with her family which rented a house on Anna Marie Island during the summer, is already planning on returning next year.
"Our team manager already offered me a spot next summer and I accepted, so I'll be back next year," she stated. "Hopefully Hanna can come down with me, and I'll try to get some of my teammates to play as well."
"I'm already so excited to go back again next year."
The league started in 2020 with six teams, before growing to 10 this past summer. Each squad featured around 14 players, totaling close to 140 for the entire league.
One of those players was current Blue Hen sophomore outfielder Julz Garber.
Garber's team was based out of Brandenton, Fla., and while games were played in the Sarasota Softball Complex. Players were either asked to join a team, or could apply on their own. However the league turned down over 50 applicants due to it being the only summer league for current college softball players.
Julz's sister, Hanna, a current junior on the Blue Hens, was asked to play, but had to drop out due to an injury. However the team that Hanna was set to play with had another player get injured, so Julz was asked to join the squad.
"The competition was obviously really good," said Garber, a CAA All-Rookie Team selection at Delaware last spring. "There were girls from all over the country, girls who had just come off playing in the NCAA Tournament. So the competition wasn't going to be any higher, since there was nowhere else for everybody to play."
The league featured almost exclusively Division I players, with Garber's team including players from Colorado State, Campbell, Elon, Wichita State, Presbyterian and Stetson. The competition level helped elevate her game.
"It was really cool, I'd never had an opportunity like that to play against girls who were that good," she remarked. "I saw consistently good pitching, which really helped."
The season was six weeks long, with games held six days a week. A double elimination championship followed to wrap up the season. Games were normally played at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., allowing Garber time in the afternoon to return to the hitting facility to work on her skills, before then heading to the pool or beach.
"It was a lot of games, but it was nice because if I needed to work on something, here (at UD) you just play a weekend and a midweek, and you have all those days off. But there, you had to turn around the next day and make adjustments, so it was really beneficial," she explained. "Our team had four outfielders so we had a little bit of a rotation, but if you're not in the field, you're still in the lineup hitting. So I played pretty much every day."
"My expectations were that I'm just going to get better. I could go and strike out every at bat, and I would still get better because I'm seeing great pitching and just getting reps," Garber said.
Garber, however, did not strikeout every at bat. In fact, she posted a batting average near .350 which ranked second on her team, and subsequently received an opportunity to play in the All-Star Game.
Additionally, some of the Olympic softball teams were in the area preparing for the Tokyo Games, and Garber's squad had the chance to play against Team Canada.
"That was a really cool experience," she said.
Garber, who stayed with her family which rented a house on Anna Marie Island during the summer, is already planning on returning next year.
"Our team manager already offered me a spot next summer and I accepted, so I'll be back next year," she stated. "Hopefully Hanna can come down with me, and I'll try to get some of my teammates to play as well."
"I'm already so excited to go back again next year."
Players Mentioned
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