Youth finds success on local softball team Published Aug. 1, 2008 By Holly Birchfield 78 ABW/PA Robins Air Force Base, GA -- Although as a military dependent, Julia Bell is used to being the new kid on the block and a bit different from her classmates, the 11-year-old sixth grader said dividing lines fade away when she's on the softball field. The Dayton, Ohio, native is in her second year of playing for the Krushers, a team within the Perry Junior League, a Dixie Softball sanctioned league. Julia's All-Star team recently won their state championship, which afforded the Perry Middle Schooler a spot on the Georgia Team for the Dixie World Series in Alexandria, La., which begin Saturday. Even if she wasn't at the top of her game, Julia said she loves the sport. "My grandfather in Montana taught me how to play and catch and he got me interested in softball, so my dad signed me up," she said. Her father, Lt. Col. John Bell, director of Operations in the 562nd Combat Sustainment Squadron, said his daughter fell in love with softball right off the bat. "In the spring of 2007, Julia decided she wanted to start playing softball," he said. "She had never played organized softball before, so we found out about Perry and their Dixie Softball League program, which is called Perry Junior League. We realized what a great program that was and how many kids were involved in the Perry area." Marni Echols-Bell, Julia's mom, said she and her husband do what they can to help Julia reach her softball playing potential, practicing two to three hours a day, five days a week. "I'm very proud of her commitment and just how hard she's worked," she said. Her father is equally proud of his daughter's new found talent. "We're all amazed by how well she can hit the ball," he said. "She has had several in-the-field homeruns this year and she seems to be pretty good at handling the fast pitching." Michelle Bearden, the Krushers team mom, said the softball player with military roots brings more than a great catcher's arm to the team. "She has a great attitude," she said. "She's always trying to get the girls motivated, trying to get them pumped up. She's always supporting them when they're down. If somebody doesn't get a good hit, she's always trying to encourage them." Bearden said Julia's military connection makes her an even greater asset to the team. "She becomes a team player because she knows how to get along and make things work in a difficult situation," she said. "You don't always have personalities that go together on a team and then you have some kids like Julia who try to get them together and encourage them to be friends." Echols-Bell attributes Julia's ease with finding common ground with others to her Air Force upbringing. "I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that (our kids) have had to move and adjust and go with the flow," she said. Bell said his daughter has made a team full of friends since she began the sport. "She's kind of staked a place for herself, not just on the team, but also at school and in the community," he said. "It's great to see how involved the Warner Robins and Perry area and the whole Houston County area are in youth baseball and softball. Right now, this seems the center of the youth baseball and softball world." Despite all the hype of her upcoming softball World Series championship, Julia said she just wants to have fun on the field. "There are some really nice girls on the team," she said. "We just love playing ball."