Mother/Daughter Tandem Is Enjoying Their Time on the Field Together

It is a dream come true for Julie and Emma Terry.

Emma, a recent graduate and two-time All-County softball player for East Hampton High School, had always dreamed of playing with her mom, Julie, on the East Hampton PBA softball team in the East Hampton Town women’s slow pitch softball league.

That wish came true this summer, now that Emma is 18 years old and finally eligible to play on the team. The team plays two games a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at the Terry King Ball Field in Amagansett for six to eight weeks during the summer, with the playoffs usually concluding at some point around the third week in August.

The league takes a week hiatus in late July due to the Travis Field Memorial Scholarship Annual Bash, which many of the league’s players participate in. Coincidentally, Emma created her own team for this year’s tournament with players close to her age.

Julie, who has been on the East Hampton PBA team for 30 years, said she is enjoying the opportunity to play with her daughter this year.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s fun to be on the field and watch her be a part of the team.”

The team is mainly the same when it comes to its members each year, which is why Emma has fit in so easily. That, combined with her love for the sport of softball. Emma has been playing softball since she was in first grade. She played the first five years under the coaching of her mother, but they had not had the opportunity to be on the same team throughout Emma’s middle and high school career, so they both were elated at the opportunity to compete together once again.

“I’ve been around this team since I was 4, so I’ve been sitting in the dugouts for a while,” Emma said. “It’s great.”

“She’s a good player, but I have to say, having her be a part of the team has really been fun and the girls love her,” Julie said. “It’s just a great thing and we’re very lucky to have it.”

Emma also coaches her own 12U travel softball team as well, which both Julie and Emma agreed is important, increasing the participation of younger people in hometown events.

“It’s something that we want to keep going with the East Hampton Women’s League because it’s so important and so much fun and it’s so nice to see the young players come in and join us because we have a ton of fun,” Julie said. “It’s just so nice to see all of these kids participate in these great hometown events.”

While Emma will be studying nursing at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, she will be giving up fastpitch softball, but she enjoys the slower pace that the slowpitch league is played at. Coming from the varsity setting, it really is a totally different sport and atmosphere.

“I feel like this league is a lot more fun than it is competitive, which is a good change of speed,” Emma said. “It’s definitely slower paced than regular fastpitch but it’s really great.”

Both Emma and Julie are thankful for the opportunity to play together and hope that no matter what life brings, they can look forward to putting on the East Hampton PBA jerseys for years to come.

“It’s definitely what I had hoped it would be like,” Emma said. “It really is a dream come true.”

“It’s just a great thing, and we’re very lucky to have it,” Julie said. “I hope I play until I can’t anymore.”