Incoming Magic coaches offer experience

Westman Magic players will be guided by an experienced group of head coaches next season, including one local softball legend.

The under-19 Magic will be coached by Bev Neufeld, who was inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2009.

She walked into the office of Magic board member Joel Whiteside and asked him what was happening with the U19s, and at that time there was no plan in place. After some time to think about it, she agreed to take the reins.

“You can’t find someone with more experience, more knowledge to coach in maybe Manitoba, as far as I’m concerned, in the softball world,” Whiteside said. “My daughter (Jayce) has had Bev before as an assistant coach, but her taking on the head coaching role is great, and I think it’s a great fit for the U19 age group for sure.”

That’s an age group where jobs, other commitments and relationships traditionally pull teenagers from many sports, and softball is no different. Whiteside noted the players are adults and many have been away at university.

Neufeld certainly understands the sport is not the burning focus of many players that it once was, and is willing to work inside those constraints.

“It’s a different sort of atmosphere with that age group in general,” Whiteside said. “Her plans for the season fit with the mindset of that age group. It’s essentially when the players are there for practices and games, we’re all in.

“It’s serious and we’re playing hard and doing all the things it takes to win, but she understands this age group has their own jobs and might not be able to be there all the time.”

She’s already communicated that message to potential players, which they hope will encourage more of them to return.

“When I heard the news that Bev was coming back, I knew that was super exciting,” Magic vice president Adam Hartman said. “There are a lot of people within the organization who are really excited to play for her or play for her again. She brings so much experience and leadership into the organization.”

In recent years, softball organizations have picked their teams and coaches in the fall rather than doing a rush job in the spring, which allows them to train indoors together all winter.

The organization had multiple applications for the U13, U15 and U17 teams, with the successful candidates selected by board members who had no conflict of interest on that particular team. In the U13 division, Heidi Figol will return for her second season after serving as a house league coach with younger age groups in the past.

“Having Heidi back is amazing,” Whiteside said. “She’s a wonderful coach who has tons of softball experience to begin with. She connects with the players and has such a high energy level and passion for the game and all the players she coaches.

“She’s a wonderful asset to have in the Magic program and I hope this is just year two of many years of coaching for her.”

The U15 Magic will be handled by co-coaches Hartman and Arjana Eilers, who has become an invaluable part of the local scene since graduating from Dickson State University and returning home.

Hartman, who has coached the Crocus Plains varsity girls basketball program for many years, and Eilers, who finished her playing career in 2023, would seem like an ideal blend of assets.

“They complement each other super well,” Whiteside said. “Arjana has been basically volunteering or coaching or running clinics since she came home from playing college softball, so you get that experience of someone who has gone through the Magic program, understands the work it takes to get to the next level.

“At that U15 level, the development goes from just teaching the kids the basics on defence to actually going into that next level, taking the players from really, really good to an elite player. Those two are super dedicated and have a passion for the game.”

The U17 Magic, who will host nationals, will be guided by Brad Twordik, the former Brandon Wheat Kings captain who was also an outstanding softball player. He has served on a number of staffs in recent years as an assistant.

“He’s no stranger to elite level softball and obviously his hockey over the years would put him in the small percentage of elite athletes who have gone on to play some professional stuff,” Whiteside said. “His knowledge of the game is fantastic. He knows the rulebook in and out.

“Brad has a unique way of communicating to players in a really easy way for them to understand. He can also demonstrate the drill, but his teaching background gives him a way to communicate to players how he wants them to field the ball or swing the bat or whatever the lesson is.”

ANNUAL MEETING

The Magic’s annual general meeting is at the North End Community Centre next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The board was formed in 2024, allowing the organization to split off from Softball Brandon. It’s a similar setup to U18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings board, which operates under the auspices of Hockey Brandon.

The current executive includes Hartman (vice president), Amy Grift (secretary), Hailey Clark (treasurer), Whiteside (communication), Eilers (player development and recruitment), Marc Lyver (coach development and recruitment), Vicki Duncan-Gagnon (U17 convener), Jamie Barkley (U15 convener) and Lorry Hart (U13 convener).

The former president resigned so that spot is open, and there is currently no U19 convener.

The board members serve two-year terms, and four of them will become vacant, so there is the hope some new people will step up to help out.

The team awards were handed out at a barbecue after the season, a change from past years when they were presented at the AGM. That should lead to a quicker meeting this year, but it could also mean they struggle to have enough people to make quorum.

LAST SEASON

The U13s went 24-0 and finished first in the regular season, lost in the provincial final and then took silver in the western Canadian final. They were 48-12-1 overall, including tournaments.

The U15s finished fourth with a record of 4-6, third at provincials and earned silver at westerns. Their overall record was 31-18-1.

The U17s also finished fourth with a record of 12-7-0, third at provincials and took bronze at westerns. They were 28-21 overall.

The U19 team, which hasn’t always been active, returned with a 3-11 record in league play, finishing fifth. They opted not to attend provincials, instead heading to a season-ending Red River Rage tournament in Fargo.

“I think it was a very successful year for our organization,” Hartman said. “… It was certainly nice that we were able to field a U19 team just out of Westman and not having to co-op. As a whole, it was certainly nice to see all four teams operating and having success throughout the year and providing them that opportunity to play.”

NATIONALS COMING

The Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex has been a reliable host since it opened in 2017, and last summer it had the U11 AA, U13 AA and U17 AAA provincial playdowns.

Next summer, Softball Canada will stage its U17 AAA nationals at the facility, the first event of that stature in Brandon since the city hosted the U15 AAA nationals in 2023. It will take place from Aug. 11 to 15.

“It’s a huge honour to be recognized as a place that’s worthy to host a national championship,” Whiteside said. “It’s a feather in the cap of all those who were involved with the first go-around that Softball Canada has the confidence that we did a great job and that we can do another great job of it.

“The facility itself is obviously well suited for it for sure.”

The national event has a separate organizing committee, which was led by Bruce Luebke in 2023 and will be again next summer. Whiteside, who also sat on the 2023 board, said it’s a big job.

“The amount of pre-planning that has to go into hosting that kind of event is enormous,” Whiteside said. “It would be very regular meetings leading to the event over the course of the next year. It’s making lots of phone calls, reaching out to different sponsor opportunities to help cover the cost of the event, it’s reaching out and tracking down enough volunteers, because an event like this needs an enormous amount of volunteers.

“It runs for so many days that you just can’t count on the same 12 volunteers to do all the work. You need upwards of 70 volunteers just to make that operate because there are so many moving parts.”

That includes things like parking, scorekeeping, operating the GameChanger app, maintenance, running the gate and doing an assortment of other smaller jobs.

WHEAT CITY CLASSIC

A big component of the Magic organization these days is its annual tournament, the Wheat City Classic. It’s grown from 14 teams in two divisions in 2024, to 28 teams in 2025, to 31 last summer.

“That’s a huge commitment from our board and all of our volunteers to make sure we’re running tournaments like that,” Hartman said, while singling out Whiteside for his dedication to the event. “It’s amazing to see so many great teams come in to play on that weekend and give our families an opportunity to play more games at home.

“Because of all the commitments and contributions by so many to put this on, it’s also a nice fundraiser where we can make some money to give back to our teams to help offset a lot of the costs that come with so much travel in our seasons.”

Hartman, whose daughter Brooke played with the U15 Magic last season, came into softball as a longtime basketball coach. Everything involving the Magic was new for the former Brandon Bobcats basketball player, and he was impressed with the sport’s infrastructure and volunteer base.

“One thing that was very evident was that there was a lot of tremendous contributions by so many in the community,” Hartman said. “Being a board member now too, the board is relatively new but there is a ton of work that goes into it.

“Just even hearing the history and the past of the people who have been involved for the last couple of decades and allowing our organization to continue to be so strong by providing our athletes incredible experiences and opportunities in this sport, it’s really impressive to me.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com