Lamboo adjusts to Softball Manitoba role

Susan Lamboo may soon be found at a softball diamond near you.

The veteran sports administrator took over as the executive director of Softball Manitoba on Jan. 5 after Don Klym retired in December following 37 years of service to the sport.

As she grows into her new role, Lamboo is facing a steep learning curve and wants to talk to the people who make softball happen across the province. She said a lot can be learned from some frank conversations about what’s working and what isn’t.

“I would love got go to all of them but we have three different provincials basically every weekend in July and August,” Lamboo said. “We’re going to tackle it as a staff and try to get each one of them to make sure we get to know people and thank the people who are hosting these things, and to hear people out with the good, the bad and the ugly and seeing how we can grow and move forward.”

Unfortunately for her, Softball Manitoba’s finance and administration manager Leigh Decker went on maternity leave on Oct. 1, so with Klym also gone, she’s had to settle into the job without the benefit of much institutional memory in the office.

“It’s going,” Lamboo said of the transition. “(Program co-ordinator) Monte (Miller) works half the season, so he’s been a godsend, and Leigh, who has been off on mat leave, has answered some of my questions along the way. The board has been fantastic because they have such great experience and knowledge.

“My motto is ‘Next year will be fantastic!’”

Lamboo does have deep roots inside Sport Manitoba after serving as manager of coaching and officials for the organization. Sport Manitoba supports more than 75 sports-related organizations, with many executive directors housed in Winnipeg at 145 Pacific Ave.

She said the resulting hothouse of ideas and experience has been a big help as she adjusts to the new job.

“I have really good relationships with most of the executive directors from the sports, and now that I’m in this role, I lean on them a lot for support and mentorship,” Lamboo said. “I’m asking ‘How did you do this?’ and ‘What did you do here?’ It’s a really collaborative place. People are so open to helping the newbie out with some of their best practices.”

The Winnipegger has coached softball and been involved with the Canada Summer Games and Manitoba Games. In addition, she served as a sessional instructor at the University of Winnipeg and a recreation program instructor at Robertson College.

She has especially tight ties to Special Olympics Manitoba, where she has served as a coach and staff member for many years. It started when she had to do a 10-hour practicum in university, and she picked Special O.

“I fell in love it,” Lamboo said. “I was able to go to nationals within my second year of volunteering,” Lamboo said. “I ended up working there for 15 years. It’s just so fulfilling. Even if you have a bad day, you go into practice and by the end of it, you’re just ‘Yup, this is why I’m here.’ “It’s just provided me so many opportunities to grow in my leadership skills.”

Her daughter now coaches as well because they both enjoy the organization and the people.

“I’ve always loved coaching, I’ve loved sports and it’s just happenstance that I fell into it,” Lamboo said. “It’s become a huge part of my life.”

BUSY SUMMER

Softball Manitoba has 17 provincial championships on the docket this summer, with Brandon hosting the under-11 and U13 AA playdowns on July 24-26 and the U17 AAA tournament on July 16-19.

In addition, Onanole is holding the 50-plus master men’s provincial event on July 18-19.

None of the national events for the girls are in Manitoba this summer with the U15s heading to Fredericton, N.B., from July 28 to Aug. 2, the U17s scheduled for Calgary from July 29 to Aug. 2, and the U19s in Calgary from Aug. 5 to 9.

Winkler is the sole Manitoba host of a bigger event when they stage the western Canadian U15 boys and girls championships from Aug. 13 to 16. Manitoba has certainly held its fair share of high-profile events over the years, including the U15 girls’ Canadian championships in Brandon in 2023 and the first-ever U13 boys’ and girls’ western Canadian championships in 2024.

Lamboo thinks is important that Manitoba steps up.

“It’s huge to be able to see people from across Canada and really see the calibre and excitement that softball generates, not just for the players but the host communities,” Lamboo said. “The camaraderie that happens within the communities, the growth of volunteers when that happens is huge. Hopefully that translates into new players or new volunteers from the host communities.”

The organization is looking at hosting more development camps and clinics in the fall and next winter. They have the Manitoba Softball Academy in Winnipeg for the off-season, but are hoping to expand more into rural areas.

The sport is continuing to rebuild following a post-COVID slowdown in registration that seems to have affected virtually every sport. But they are nearing their 2019 numbers.

“We’re very, very close,” Lamboo said.

Another impact of the pandemic is the loss of umpires, with some never returning after the lockdown ended. That’s been countered in some ways, but there is still a concerning shortage in another.

“Our umpire numbers are up, but it’s a lot of youth,” Lamboo said. “That’s awesome, we need young, new umpires for sure, but they can only have a certain level. We’re a little short on adult umpires compared to previous years.”

She said Softball Manitoba is considering ways to do targeted recruitment, noting the sport always needs new coaches and officials.

Another vexing issue is the state of the men’s game. While it continues to have a strong presence in aboriginal communities in the north, the men’s game has virtually disappeared in the south. It’s something she said has to be targeted.

“We definitely need to, hands down,” Lamboo said. “There isn’t a huge pathway for males within softball anymore. We need to address that. We do have co-ed learn to play at young ages but then there is no pathway for most boys to go.

“Male softball is still very strong in the indigenous communities, we just have to figure out how to get it back to all areas of Manitoba.”

Happily for northern players, there is new diamond being built in Norway House and the existing facilities are being upgraded after they received a grant.

Lamboo hasn’t visited the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex in Brandon as part of her new job yet, but she did see it when her daughter played in the facility, which opened in 2017.

She said having good diamonds is key for the sport, even with the recent resurgence of Headingley’s John Blumberg Park.

“To have a facility like (the Ashley Neufeld complex), it allows tournaments to happen and allows development to happen and allows softball players to have a space to be able to go and practise the sport they love and get people excited about it,” Lamboo said.

“If we don’t have facilities and they have to practise on grass fields or whatever, you’re just not able to develop to your potential and understand the sport the way it needs to be on a really good diamond. It’s a lot faster.”

She said more facilities also allow more people to play.

Softball Manitoba had leased the Blumberg softball complex from the City of Winnipeg since 1990, but it was in rough shape due to years of drought and some diamonds were considered unplayable.

After a report showed the facility needed $3.2 million worth of upgrades, Softball Manitoba walked away from the busiest facility in the province in 2023. The city kept it partially open, and in February 2025, the Red River Exhibition Association took over the facility, which has seven diamonds and 13 fields.

They are now upgrading the park.

“There are people doing tournaments out of there,” Lamboo said. “I know our slo-pitch tournament at the end of the season is out of there. It’s getting up and running again, which is awesome.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com