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Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. Every team aims in scoring as many runs possible, against the opponents by striking the ball with a specific bat. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand. The game is played on a smaller diamond than in baseball and despite the game’s name, the standard softball is not soft; in fact, it is harder than a baseball.

Participants will be divisioned by Special Olympics South Dakota by skill level, ability, age, and gender.

This sport offers a Unified option. This gives individuals both with and without intellectual disabilities a chance to compete on the same team. This sport also offers Individual Skills, which gives lower-ability or new athletes a chance to compete and showcase the skills they are learning in that sport.

Coaches: registrations will be due to your Area Director on July 27th.

Sports certifications must be updated every three years. Please click here to verify which coaching level you are at and take the proper courses to recertify your coaching status.

Please reach out to coachesed@sosd.org with any questions at any time.

Coaching Forms
  • Coach Pitch
  • Tee Ball
  • Traditional Softball Team
  • Unified Softball Team
  • Individual Softball Skills – Base Running, Throwing, Fielding and Hitting 
Competition Season

Softball competition season takes place from July through September.

Special Olympics South Dakota Softball Handbook

The Official Special Olympics Sports Rules for Softball shall govern all Special Olympics competitions. As an international sports program, Special Olympics has created these rules based upon World Softball Confederation (WSBC) Rules for slow pitch softball found at http://www.internationalsoftball.com/. ISF or National Governing Body (NGB) rules shall be employed except when they are in conflict with the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules for Softball or Article I. In such cases, the Official Special Olympics Sports Rules for Softball shall apply.