Softball slugger makes two national teams

When asked here she wants her athletic career to lead, 13-year-old Wareham softball player Jalayla Carson swings for the fences. 

“I want to be on the Olympic team when I’m older,” she said. 

This summer, Jalayla is furthering those dreams with a call-up to two national squads: The USSSA All-American Games, a national program to increase chances for softball players to show their skills, and the national team for USA Softball. 

Jalayla will play at the Space Coast complex in Florida with the USSSA Team at the end of July, she said. 

“I was a direct invite, and out of 2,000 girls that tried out for all ages, only 89 in my age group” got a direct invite, she said. 

She also made the USA Softball team, and together with 15 other girls from the Northeast, at the beginning of August she will get the chance to play in Oklahoma at the Hall of Fame stadium — a venue she’s really excited to play, she said. 

Her mother, Janelle Carlson, said Jalayla has wanted to be on the USA team for the past eight years. 

She’s been playing softball for longer than that — “Since I could walk,” Jalayla said. Her mother founded East Coast Pitching, and that got her on the field from an early age. 

“She’s just grown up on the field, literally since she was born,” said Janelle. “She’s been on the field, in a stroller, hanging out at camps, and then she’s grown up watching the older kids play.”

Jalayla plays second base and center field, she said. “I like the outfield, because I like running and catching the balls, and I like the infield, especially the middle infield, because I get a lot of action,” she said. 

In going national, she’s excited for “just competing and meeting all the new people from different places,” she said. 

And perhaps one day, she’ll get the chance to meet people from all around the world.