Organization Preview: Calgary Adrenaline
/ GPLS.ca |
In the lead up to the 2017 GPLS season, we will be featuring previews of some of the largest softball organizations on the prairies. Over the next several weeks we will be previewing our most numerous member organizations, starting in the south and working our way north. This week we spoke with the Calgary Adrenaline.
Organization Preview: Calgary Adrenaline
When it comes to their players, the Calgary Adrenaline have a pretty simple philosophy - make their girls better people, make sure they have fun, and to make sure they become better softball players.
For Adrenaline president Jay Woon, if all three of those goals work together, their teams will win games.
Heading into their sixth year as an organization, the Adrenaline have added a second U14 team to give them six teams heading into this season, with a full association size of 75 players.
"Our numbers are growing. We're seeing a nice positive movement in our market," said Woon. "Myself and one of the founders have worked really hard to create more consistent birth year teams so those girls can grow together."
Growing in Alberta's largest city would seem fairly easy, giving the Adrenaline the chance to take their pick of some elite athletes. However, just because the city of Calgary is growing, doesn't mean the number of softball players are, as Woon said soccer's numbers are astronomical with the diversity of Calgary's population.
So that's why Woon and the Adrenaline organization go right back to their three-goal philosophy; something they instill in their players from an early age, as they know if you lose them early, there is a good chance you won't see them again.
With their U12 team, the expectation is to simply have fun and enjoy the game, beginning them down the road to what will be much higher expectations of going to national tournaments.
"We need these girls [when they] walk away from this sport, to want to give back to it and think 'wow, those were six to eight years of really fun times'," said Woon. "We struggle for girls to a point, but we are also growing."
Over the last two seasons, the Adrenaline players have experienced some growth in their training, as the association partnered with The Coyote Den for training over the winter months. With 110 foot by 110 foot infield, four hitting lanes and pitching lanes, everything but outfield practice can be done inside.
Through November to January, winter training was open to anyone who wanted to come out and the Adrenaline saw just shy of 100 players take advantage of the facility. As a collective group, they worked on softball skills before getting into evaluations to help make the girls all better softball players, even if some weren't going to stay with the program and would return to their community team.
And with plans to grow to seven or eight teams next season, making better ball players will only have a lasting effect on the organization as a whole.
"We just want girls to get better at ball," said Woon. "It's not about if you are committed to us. Come out and get better at ball. We have 27 volunteer coaches and 24 of them are all level 2 certified, which is huge. [It's about] giving them the experience, giving them the knowledge, the reputation some of them weren't seeing at their community levels."
Heading into the Girls Prairie League Softball season, expectations for the Adrenaline are across the board.
Success at the U12 level will be judged next year, when they see how many players return for another year as the first- and second-year players are just getting their feet wet in the Adrenaline program. Last year, the team struggled early in the season, but finished second at provincials, the goal remains to finish top three at provincials.
Up in U14, the 2004 team has high expectations, aiming for a top three finish in the province despite being a team full of first year players at the U14 level.
The 2003 team, which is a newly created team, features three returning Adrenaline players with quality pitching and a solid coaching staff which, Woon said "will see success as they already are growing together. It's hard to put any expectations on a group that has never played together."
At the U16 level, the first team is another team that sees a mix of players, lending a little unknown to how the season will come out once they take to the field. "I think they'll see success, but their goal as a first-year team is to just improve, have fun and see where they can go," said Woon.
For the older U16 team, which Woon coaches, he said the players have set their sights on nationals, and if they don't make it, it would be a let down for the team, who have played together for the past three to four seasons.
And at the U18 level, which will see a blend of seven Adrenaline players joining with some players from Red Deer, their goal is nationals as well.
"There are some expectations, but at the end of the day they are still kids," said Woon. "We see the growth, we see the girls having fun. We're just excited."
Check out our other organization previews:
