INSIDE THE PARK: Softball weathers COVID storm

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This article was published 16/06/2022 (1353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Westman Softball Association president Marc Lyver and the board weren’t sure quite what to expect when it came time for registration this spring. As it turned out, they didn’t have to worry.

More than 350 kids signed up this year, which is equal to their pre-pandemic numbers.

“We had a little bit of a concern just because over the pandemic, kids found other things to do,” Lyver said. “Families were getting used to doing things together more often so I was a little concerned about that but once registration opened this year, it seemed like numbers were coming in right away. We were very happy to see that most of the kids were coming back and new kids were wanting to try the sport.”

In 2020, the season started in late June and was treated as more of a summer program than the traditional spring offering, and it took place with one-third fewer players. It was shut down again and then got going a second time.

In 2021, it was another late start but they were up to about 75 per cent of their 2019 numbers.

“Once ball got changed in the summer, families decided either they didn’t want to do it because of the pandemic or they didn’t want to give up their summers from camping or lake stuff or whatever they had going during the summer months,” Lyver said. “

This summer, the softball association has 39 house league teams, four AAA Westman Magic teams and a AA program in the under-13, U15 and U17 age groups.

The U13 and U15 divisions each have three AA teams, representing north, south and the city.

The numbers are especially strong in the grassroots programs. The association started a new U5 program this year and ended up with more than 30 kids.

In addition, the U7 group has 50 to 60 girls, so there are terrific numbers in the youngest age groups, which bodes well for the sport moving forward.

“It looks real positive for the future,” Lyver said.

House league games were set to start on May 1 and end with a tournament on June 25. The weather has wreaked havoc on their plans, however, ruining a couple of weeks early in the season.

Before things started, the organization faced the perennial problem of ensuring they had enough coaches. With 39 teams just in house league, that’s a big job.

“It was a tough, tough year in our grassroots program,” Lyver said. “We had a call out just after registration closed that we needed five or six coaches in the younger age groups. We did manage to do that and supported our coaches with helping them get their coaching certificates or levels or anything needed help with.

“It definitely wasn’t easy, but the biggest part of that was having more teams.”

Off the field, the organization is undergoing some significant changes as it rebrands itself and reorganizes how it does things. The local house league programs will soon be handled under the newly named Softball Brandon moniker, while the more competitive, elite streams will function under the old Westman Softball name. The latter reflects the fact that players from outside the city play on the Magic.

“There has always been that non-understanding of who is in control of Westman Softball,” Lyver said. “It’s always been a Brandon thing and we wanted to change that look and give it to our rural communities because they produce so many of our AAA players. We thought it was only the right thing to do.”

The change has been under discussion for a couple of years. Lyver said he hopes it will allow more voices to be heard in the planning, and also for more rural people to join the new Westman Softball committees.

It also simplifies the organizational structure, because it won’t be one group trying to sort through the sometimes competing priorities of the recreational and competitive streams.

“It’s definitely going to be (easier),” Lyver said. “We’re just in the process of it all going through. We had an (annual general meeting) in the spring so we had to get our membership to give us the go-ahead. We’re in the process of forming those committees and restructuring.

“There will be a fall AGM when everything gets finalized and passed through. We’re very excited about it Over the years, it’s always been the same group of people running the house league programs and AAA and AA programs, so to have more help and a bigger vision will be way better for everybody.”

As is usually the case, the organization is playing host to some big events this summer at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex.

They already held the AA showcase event last weekend and high school provincials in early June.

“They attracted big crowds,” Lyver said. “It was good to see that everybody was out having fun and enjoying watching them play ball again.”

There are also some high-level events still to come, with provincials in the U13 AAA (July 21-24), and the U13 AA and U15 AA divisions (Aug. 12-14) set for the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex. They were also supposed to host the U17 AA provincials but that’s been cancelled.

The tournaments will allow local volunteers to gain even more experience as they prepare for the 2023 nationals they’ll host in the U15 division from Aug. 9 to 13.

It’s all possible because of the softball complex, which opened in 2017.

“It’s fantastic,” Lyver said. “There is no place in this province, in my mind, that compares to this facility. Having a manager like Brett Turner who actually cares about the facility so much and keeps it top-notch at all times, it’s unbelievable. People who walk through these gates are always complimenting how nice these diamonds are.”

Lyver, who was reached by phone when he was at the facility, has pitched in to help for the last couple of years and spends a lot of time there.

This weekend, the facility will host the annual International Classic tournament in the U13 and U15 for the first time as it moves from its traditional home at the John Blumberg Softball Complex in Headingley. Both Magic teams are involved in the Manitoba Premier Softball League event.

In addition, the boys will be in action from Aug. 19 to 21 when Patrick Leask’s Oji-Cree softball tournament returns for the second year.

Lyver is just relieved a degree of normalcy has returned to the sport.

“To me when I come to the ballpark now, I don’t even think about what it’s been like the last couple of years,” Lyver said. “For all the kids and coaches and spectators, it just seems like it was three years ago.

“It’s really good to see.”