Adam Prudhomme
Editor
What better way to celebrate Canada Day than by competing for a chance to play for a national fastpitch title?
That’s what the Napanee U17 Express will be doing June 28-30 when they host the Ontario Amateur Softball Association’s U17 Eliminations at the Napanee Fairgrounds.
That’ll be the start of a busy summer of softball for the Express as they’ll also host the Provincial Women’s Softball Association U13 Qualifier July 26-28 and the OASA’s U9 East Event, Aug. 10-11.
“I think everybody’s excited to have a big tournament like this at home,” said Scott Thompson, coach of the U17 Express boys. “We’re hoping to see a lot of people out. I know the boys are exciting to play a big tournament at home. It’s the same team basically that we won Nationals with two years ago, so we’re looking to have a good showing at the tournament.”
Last year this group finished third in the country at the U17 level, playing with a roster of mostly minors.
Getting selected to host major tournament is old hat for Softball Napanee as they’re routinely given the responsibility of organizing two or three major events every summer. Their reputation of putting on a good show makes them a go-to choice for the OASA and PWSA.
“We’re lucky here to have an outstanding group of coaches and people that run softball in the area that keep a big interest in the sport,” said Thompson. “A lot of people coming out, it’s always very well organized. I’m sure that is one the factors that allows Napanee to keep getting these tournaments.”
For the U17 Eliminations, top teams from across Ontario will be coming to Napanee looking to qualify for the Canadians, which will take place Aug. 6-11 in St-Gervais, QC. The top four teams from the Napanee tournament will earn the right to represent Ontario.
In July, the Express U13 girls will by welcome top teams from across the eastern region to play for seeding at the PWSA Grand Championships, which will be held Aug. 9-11 in Windsor.
For this Napanee group it marks a unique opportunity to play on their home turf.
“Typically we end up having to travel towards bigger cities, the Toronto area to do tournament,” said U13 Express girls coach Shawn Trudeau. “Thankfully girls fastpitch is starting to increase and there’s teams in the Cobourg and Kawartha area and we’re able to have some games back in Napanee.”
Trudeau says they’re starting to see a bit of a revival in girls fastpitch in the area and hosting a tournament in Napanee could help spark more interest.
“It’s really great that some of the younger kids can look and watch the game and say that they can do that too,” said Trudeau, who also coaches the Queen’s University Gaels women’s fastpitch team. Through that connection he’d been able to bring university athletes to some of the U13 training sessions in Napanee.
“I’ve had those athletes coming out and helping with these athletes that I’m coaching,” said Trudeau. “It’s really great that those older athletes are coming to be role models and mentors and coaching and they help with some of the sessions that I have for the U13 group. It really helps the girls realize that I can do this. Somebody before me is doing it as well.”
With an eye on the future of the sport in the area, Trudeau says he’ll often given the girls a chance to try new skills. This group in particular has five pitchers on the roster with another four who have catching experiencing.
“That level of ball, U13 in Napanee is starting to get noticed and the good work the girls are doing is starting to get noticed and I suspect by the time we get to qualifiers we’ll be quite competitive and we should be in the mix most the games,” Trudeau added.
As for the U9 East Event in Napanee, that’ll feature two boys Express teams and one Express girls team. The tournament will give the young players a taste of playing on the big stage in front of a supportive home town crowd. It’s that early exposure that allows Softball Napanee to continue to produce competitive teams at all age levels.
“The coaches and the athletes and the parents all seem to genuinely have the same goals and want to succeed and we start that at an early age,” said Thompson. “They seem to learn how to perform in big moments early.”