Softball enjoying a resurgence
As the U12 Lethbridge Heat girls softball team prepares for ‘D’ provincials in Edmonton July 6-8, like the mighty Phoenix, it serves as the exclamation point to the rebirth of interest in the sport in the Lethbridge area among young girls.
The Lethbridge Minor Softball Association (LMSA) only had one youth girls team less than a decade ago, and now enjoy teams across various age categories.
Jen Drader, president of the LMSA and head coach with the Heat, loved playing fast-pitch girls softball as a kid and wanted to pass on that passion to her daughter McKenna when she discovered there were no opportunities available when she looked to enrol.
“I still play slo-pitch today and I wanted to show my daughter what the sport had to offer. When I went to register her, I was told there was no program for five-year-olds. There was only one team at the time, an older group,” said Drader, of the state of the sport five years ago.
But mere years later, there has been a resurgence with teams in every age bracket up to 16 years old, with Timbit, U10, U12, U14, and U16. There is a U19 category, but the current youth movement has not moved up to that category yet.
“There have been a lot of volunteers that have wanted to see it come back into play,” said Drader, adding a U14 Lethbridge team is also making a ‘D’ provincials appearance this season in Provost on the July long weekend. “Last year was the first year that we put in a U12 provincial team in the last number of years and this year we have two provincial teams. So even in that, we’ve grown in a short amount of time.”
Volunteers have made a strong foundation for future growth in the sport, giving young girls the tools to succeed.
“We have been able to provide the kids with winter camps, pitching clinics, catching clinics,” said Drader.
Drader noted girls fast-pitch softball has many similarities to baseball, where players can lead off or steal bases, after the ball has left the pitcher’s hand in windmill fashion. Hitters are required to wear helmets and pitchers must wear face guards for safety precautions. At the younger groups, the balls are smaller than those found in slo-pitch. There are nine players on the field unlike slo-pitch, that has an extra player as a rover.
“We do have inning counts for the girls. At the younger levels, you are allowed to pitch a maximum three innings in a game. At the U12 level and up, it is four innings,” said Drader.
The interest has been strong enough that teams can play against each other in a house league, with teams also featured in Coaldale and Milk River. There are also provincial travel teams that have played in venues such as Elkford, and Medicine Hat. Games are played primarily at the George Vaselenak Miner’s Library Ball Park on the northside, along with some school diamonds. Drader noted if the sport is to expand further, the league will need to look elsewhere for diamond availability in which they are working with the city in future visions.
“I played baseball until I was 11 or 12 years old, but then I reached an age where I couldn’t compete with the boys anymore and so my parents put me into fast pitch. It was such a great experience. I still know girls in slo-pitch today that I played fast-pitch with at that age group,” said Drader. “It’s a great sport for that camaraderie and team spirit, and I wanted my daughter to have that same experience with the team atmosphere with all the girls and the relationships you build. Fortunately, she loves it as much as I do.”
As the Heat continue to be pioneers on the provincial landscape, Drader adds the team will look to be soaking in the experience while being competitive, with hopes of at least a .500 record.
“We want to be able to compete with the teams there. We have definitely come a long way, where the expectations are higher every time we play,” said Drader of the provincial tournament that will feature 15 teams in their pool.
“Central and northern Alberta are quite heavy into softball. They are quite competitive. You are sort of entering softball central up there which can be a little intimidating. But the girls improve so much when they see that type of competition, and they get that drive to be better every time. The experience itself is the most important thing for them.”
As the sport continues to grow in popularity, Drader hopes it instills a life-long passion for the game that has plenty of opportunities for women along the way.
“I’m a huge advocate for girls in sport. It’s a life-long sport. You don’t need to stop playing at 16. There are scholarships that can come into play in the States or universities here,” said Drader. “Softball is coming back to the Olympics in 2020. There is growth on both the national and international level as well.”