In their first season, the U12 Girls Fast Pitch Crushers ‘Navy’ team won the Division 2 city championships in the Calgary Minor Softball League.
“It was a wonderful year for the kids and the parents,” said parent Randy Engleson.
This was the first year that the Crushers have run girls fast pitch teams with two U10 and two U12 teams.
“It was a successful year for a program that’s just starting out in a league that’s been around for quite some time,” said Head coach Kevin Lynch.
Made up of a combination of players new to the game and players who played with Strathmore or Calgary teams last season, Engleson said that it was great to watch the girls grow and connect as a team over the course of the year.
“It all came together at the end of the year when they were able to take it into the city championships and put everything together,” he said.
Lynch agreed that despite some rough patches the team really grew and matured together in this inaugural season.
“We had a lot to learn there was a rough patch in the middle of the season,” he said, “but we finished very well at the end.”
“The girls really gelled as a team, really they came together especially in the last tournament and the city championships,” said Lynch who also credits the great attitudes and volunteerism of the parents as well as the hard work of his assistant coaches for making this first season so successful.
Engleson said that it was great for the girls to have the opportunity to play together and represent Chestermere.
The Crushers are hoping to build on this year’s success by growing both the number of players enrolled in fast pitch but also the number of teams for next season.
Currently there were just over 20 players split between the two U12 teams which leaves plenty of room for new players to join next year.
“We’re looking for this to be something for younger girls in Chestermere who maybe don’t want to play baseball with boys,” said Engleson.
They are also looking to expand to a U14 team so that some of the girls that have gotten too old for the U12 team can continue playing her in the city.
