Our Story

Maryland InteGRITy was created in 2013 by coaches and parents who want to make a difference in youth sports.  InteGRITy is founded on very simple principles...  The organization, the team, the game will always be FOR THE KIDS and ABOUT THE KIDS.   

Choosing the name InteGRITy was an intentional way to hold ourselves accountable to that standard.  The name on our shirts would serve as a constant reminder to ourselves, our coaches, our parents, officials, fans, opposing teams... about how we wanted to conduct ourselves.  We realized that having a name like InteGRITy is not easy, but hard.  We embrace the hard and open ourselves up to criticism, judgement and high standards. We feel that being a part of youth sports is a privilege and a responsibility and we do not take this privilege and responsibility lightly.  We call ourselves Maryland InteGRITy because we want to stand firm in our ideals and principles and we want it to be clear what those ideals and principles are.  We want to get back to what youth sports were created for to begin with... the kids. We do no believe we stand on a moral high ground and are better than any other organization.  Just like we tell our players, it is not about who we are going to play,  it is about us, our team, our program, our actions. 

The name is about who we want to be, not about who we think we are.  We wish to hold ourselves accountable. No organization, coach or parent is perfect.  What we will do at InteGRITy is make decisions with the best intentions and interests of the kids, team and organization in mind... IN THAT ORDER.  It is painfully obvious not all organizations, coaches and adults share these same beliefs.  There are other great organizations that give today's youth a wonderful opportunity to learn and play the sports they love.  On the other hand there are also many organizations that put hidden agendas, money, adult ego and $5 trophies over the best interest of the kids.  Some may even say that youth sports are in a sad state in our great country.  No one person or organization can change this, but what we can do is TRY.  Try and do what we believe in our hearts is our part to make a difference in our sport, our community and in kids and families lives.  Maryland InteGRITy will never stray from these ideals and principles.   

We will also share our bylaws and financials on our website so that we always have financial and fiscal transparency.  No member of Maryland InteGRITy will ever have to wonder about how the money is spent, etc.   This is our mission statement from our bylaws..."Our goal is to reach the behaviors, skills and attitudes necessary to play fundamentally sound fast pitch softball at the highest level.  More importantly, we desire to teach life skills and ideals of good sportsmanship that will last a lifetime.  We want each and every one of our players to conduct themselves and play the game with InteGRITy.  We believe a lot more than softball is being learned on the ball field.  InteGRITy softball is a mix of learning the game of softball, character, relationships and team building combined with great sportsmanship.  As a result our coaches are held to the highest standard of InteGRITy as they must lead by example.G-R-I-T in InteGRITy is purposefully highlighted.  GRIT is defined as "firmness of mind or spirit, unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger.  "GRIT" is who we are... a hardworking, grind it out, GRITy unit!!!" 

#INTEGRITYSTRONG 

Michael Clark

Founder and creator of Maryland InteGRITy