Scotts Valley’s Trouble 12U-B softball team gathered Sept. 2 before the Scotts Valley City Council, where they were lauded and applauded for their winning season and received a proclamation from the council.
Mayor Donna Lind reflected on watching the team compete at June’s Rally in the Valley home tournament, where Trouble not only hosted the USA Softball-sanctioned event but won it.
“I was impressed, but most of all, as it’s been said, the teamwork—seeing you guys put your heart and soul in and represent well, and the things that you’ve learned and that your coaches have inspired you,” Lind told the team. “We’re very proud of you all.”
The numbers behind the season are impressive: Trouble finished with a 30-8-2 record, ranked second in the Northern California division and among the top 4% of 12U teams nationally in the USA Softball Cross-Class Rankings.
But the team’s summer journey was about much more than its record.
Trouble placed third at the USA Softball NorCal State Championships, overcoming a first-game loss by winning five consecutive games over two days and outscoring opponents 84-36.
That performance earned the team one of just three Northern California berths to the USA Softball Pacific Coast Championship Tournament in San Diego, part of the Cal State Games.
Trouble 12U-B was coached by Kevin Sugarman and Nick Torres, volunteer coaches who have worked with many of the players since they were 8-year-olds in the coach-pitch division, along with assistant coaches Mat Ducharme and Brooklyn Llamas.
The roster included fifth- through seventh-graders Alexandra Shippee, Callie Arenas, Cara Draper, Delanie Sugarman, Keilani Kim, Charlotte Sklar, Jillian Chuan, Libby Torres, Sydney Tate, Hannah Martin, Charlotte Ducharme and Wynona Bredthauer, representing Brook Knoll Elementary, Scotts Valley Middle School, Pacific Collegiate School and Baymonte Christian School.
Vice Mayor Steve Clark, who watched the team play earlier in the season, recognized the commitment behind that accomplishment.
“What a great season. I remember the opener when the mayor and I watched you play. Man, you’re good,” Clark said.
Having coached baseball and soccer while his own children were growing up, Clark said he understood the dedication required.
“I know the dedication, the hours, the late nights,” he said. “What you’ve built here is more than a fantastic softball team. You’ve built a community, and you’ve built future leaders.”
For the players, that sense of community was just as important as what happened on the field.
“This summer was an incredible experience. We built such a strong community around this group of athletes,” said Charlotte Sklar, who wore No. 13.
The regional championships gave the team an opportunity to measure itself against some of the strongest competition in California, Sklar said. “The regional championships were our chance to show how much we’d grown, and playing against some of the best teams in California was incredible.”
Sklar’s summer took her even farther. She was one of just nine 12U players from Northern California selected to represent the region at the 2026 USA Softball All-American Games in Oklahoma City in August.
Playing for Region 10 Stripes alongside athletes from California, Nevada and Hawaii, Sklar’s team finished third overall.
The experience gave her a new appreciation for where she came from.
“Representing Northern California at the USA All-American Games in Oklahoma City taught me that not everyone has a community like Scotts Valley to come home to,” she said. “And we’re so grateful for all the support.”
That support followed the team throughout a summer that included tournaments in Petaluma, Tracy and Lake Tahoe, as well as the trip to San Diego.
The San Diego trip itself was made possible through fundraising by the families and the broader community.
Alex Shippee said the competition helped prepare the team for what comes next.
“We had a great season and I’m proud of my team for making it to the California Championships,” Shippee said. “Playing some of the best teams in the state made us more confident and will set us up to be a great 14U team.”
Behind the team’s success was years of work and development.
“It took several years of hard work and growing pains to get where this team is now,” said coach Nick Torres. “What makes it even more special is that these girls are basically all best friends.”
The team’s success also reflects the growth of the Scotts Valley Trouble program. Trouble 12U-B is part of Scotts Valley Trouble Fastpitch, a nonprofit competitive program that draws players from Scotts Valley Girls Softball.
According to the city proclamation, the Trouble program has doubled its participation in recent years, with roughly half of eligible Scotts Valley Girls Softball recreational players continuing into competitive travel softball.
For Clark, that growth radiates throughout the town. “And to the parents: thank you for every practice, every game, and for getting this whole team down to San Diego,” he said. “You’re building strength in each other and building our future leaders.”
“Who knows, someday some of these young ladies might be sitting up here themselves,” Clark added. “Thank you all.”
The team’s June home tournament, Rally in the Valley, also demonstrated how deeply the community has embraced Trouble. Hundreds of volunteer hours from players, parents and community members helped host 30 visiting teams at Siltanen Park.
And after a summer of travel, competition and championship play, the message from the city was clear: the team’s accomplishments belong not only to the players and coaches, but to an entire community that showed up for them.
Lind summed it up after seeing the team play.
“We’re very proud of you all.”
