The Sterling Girls Softball Association (SGSA) was first formed in Sterling in 1974 and was commonly referred to as the Sterling Lassie League. This original league consisted of 40 girls forming 4 teams playing the slow pitch variation of softball. During this early period, wooden bats were mandatory and only women would coach. As the league matured and the number of teams expanded, men also started to coach. Eventually, aluminum bats were introduced and became standard.

In 1999, the girl's softball league switched to fast pitch and began participating in intertown play by joining the area fast pitch association known as the Wachusett Softball Association (WSA). The WSA consists of 6 area leagues representing the towns of Boylston, West Boylston, Princeton, Rutland, Paxton, and Sterling.

Though Sterling participates in the WSA, the SGSA is currently and will continue to be an independant league. At present there are more than a dozen teams and 150 players in the Sterling League.

Until the 2002 season, there were 3 age divisions known as the instructional (6-9 years old), lasiette (9-12 years old), and lassie (13-16 years old) divisions. In 2002, the lasiette division was divided into 2 age groups, 9-10 years old and 11-12 years old. This was done to reduce the large skill gap that existed within the 9-12 year old group. With these changes the league now has the following age divisions:


Instructional (6-8 years old)
Minor (9-10 years old)
Junior (11-12 years old)
Senior (13-16 years old)

The age division is determined by players age ending last December 31st. In some cases, a player may play at a higher age division but this must first be requested by the parent and, secondly, the player must be sufficently skilled.

The SGSA is dedicated to teaching the young women of Sterling the fundamentals of softball, keeping in mind that the ideals of good sportsmanship, courage, honesty, loyalty, and respect for authority are of primary importance, and the winning of softball games is secondary to these principles.