It was a busy scene of practice drills and warmup exercises behind the Page School in West Newbury on July 23 as the New England Storm prepared to take on the Medford Mustangs in an under-16 girls’ softball game.

This is the summer tournament season and 10 teams were vying for the title in the Brawl at the Beach tourney. Now in its 17th year as an Amateur Softball Association (ASA) program, and fielding eight teams from U12 to U18, the Storm attract players from a number of communities north of Boston.

The focus, under director and founder John Gambale, is on development, more so than winning. But that has not impeded the program’s success. The U16 squad secured the Brawl at the Beach tourney with a 5-1 win over the Plex Softball club of New Hampshire.

“Our program is geared toward teaching the game of softball,’’ said Gambale. “Winning is not that important. I’ve learned over time that winning does not equal success.’’

And the list of alums still playing is long, with graduates staying local, at college programs such as Saint Anselm, or heading south, to Clemson.

Courtney Norton, a Georgetown resident in her first season on the U16 squad, said, “They want me to become better rather than the program itself; they’re not focused on just winning.

Added Peabody’s Luciana Mastromatteo, who like Norton is a rising junior at Bishhop Fenwick High, “They want to win but you develop friendship with girls on the teams from other places. You get better as a player and face better competition.’’

And the Storm also train with high-level competition. The past seven years, they have partnered with the women’s softball program at Tufts University for fall and winter workouts indoors. And this fall, they will practice with Boston College and Endicott, with other schools possibly added to the rotation.

“Being able to see how the Tufts players practice is a good experience, because we’re prepared for what’s going to happen when we’re out of high school and going to college,’’ said Olivia McManus , a 15-year-old who plays at Revere High.

“We did a lot of drills for hitting in the winter, which helped a lot because a college coach is seeing you and seeing what you can do,’’ Mastromatteo said.

“If a college coach is like ‘Oh, nice hit,’ you’re like, ‘OK maybe I can do that. It’s very encouraging.’’

Another ASA program, the Methuen Rangers 12U squad, captured the state tournament in mid-July at Concord-Carlisle Regional High, the culmination of a seven-week summer season.

The U12 squad is a group of girls from town who have already played together for a few years — a pivotal factor in their success.

“The past few years I’ve played with most of [the same teammates],’’ said shortstop/pitcher Stephanie Tardugno .

“We get together a lot outside of softball too and that helps a lot with the chemistry. Over the past two years we’ve gotten to know each other a lot better, which helps.’’

Added third baseman Erin Smith, who is in her third year with the Ranger program: “We really played well together and we’ve always picked each other up no matter what was going on.’’

And for those that do not choose not to go the ASA route, or do not have a thirst for a packed schedule of games, the Middle Essex League is an option. This season, the program is 188 teams strong.

“We started in 1978, because in New England the softball playing season is pretty short for high school. So it started just as a high-school-age group and was designed so teams could get more game experience,’’ said Jeff Strong, the league president.

“As time grew on, we went from 15 teams to where we were now. My high was 215 [teams] about 10 years ago.’’

The footprint is expansive, from Boston’s western suburbs and then north to Cape Ann and southern New Hampshire. In most cases, each town will field an A and B team.

Each team plays two games a week for seven weeks starting the last week of June. With games limited to weekdays, 2,500 players from ages 10 to 18 can enjoy their summer weekends, or play on a tournament team.

According to Jon Palermo, president of Danvers Girls Softball and head coach of the town’s Falcons 18B team, nearly 60 percent of the girls playing Middle Essex are there for the recreational part of the sport, not necessarily the competition. Roughly 10 percent of girls in Danvers play in Middle Essex.

“It’s the best league I’ve ever coached in,’’ said Kim O’Connor, head coach of the Cape Ann Diamonds 18B team.

“I believe it gives so many prospective players the opportunity to expand their experience during the summer, and they’ll play with girls they otherwise won’t play with — they make a lot of friends that way.’’

Kate Fragg, who has played Middle Essex ball for three years while also suiting up for her Rage ASA team, said the weekday league “is almost like a practice.

“I play for a tournament team and that’s on the weekends, so it gets me ready for [those tournaments].

Middle Essex’s crowns a season champion based on the team with the best winning percentage .

“To me there really isn’t much of a difference’’ between high school, ASA and Middle Essex, said Kristen Harding, a shortstop who plays for the Cape Ann Diamonds as well as for the Academy club team.

“In high school, there’s the competiveness and you want to play varsity. Middle Essex and tournament, there’s a lot of competitiveness as well, so there’s really no difference.’’

But as Diamonds teammate Melanie Carter points outs, “It’s pretty cool to play with girls from Gloucester and Rockport, because I’m usually playing against them.

“It’s a good way to make new friends and play with people you normally don’t play with,’’ she said.

Logan Mullen can be reached at logan.mullen@globe.com.