Developing Softball Across Canada - Mark Smith Part 2
/ GPLS.ca | 9:20 A
This is part two of an interview with Canadian National Team head coach Mark Smith. Part one is available here.
Women who could be making up part of Canada’s National Softball Team and represent the country at international tournaments, including the Olympic Games in 2020, could be on the field right now inside the Prairie League, or one of the other major hotbeds for development in the country.
Softball culture is strong in British Columbia and Ontario, mostly in part to a longer warmer season that allows their teams to get to the field early, but also on the prairies, where over the last seven seasons, the GPLS has brought the best teams together from Alberta and Saskatchewan for highly competitive weekends and has lead to the development of players that are now heading to college and university programs, with a future eye on Canada’s National Team.
“I am fully impressed by the GPLS,” said Mark Smith, head coach of Canada’s National Women’s Softball team. “They do a really good job. Those are the hidden gems across the country that don’t get nearly enough attention or recognition. To have a 30 to 40 team youth league of athletes that are living in neighbouring provinces, that are coming together and competing on a schedule, they are doing some really good things and they need to be acknowledged for that.”
The creation of GPLS is right in line with what Smith said needs to happen across the country as it provides an elite level experience for the athletes who are looking at using softball as a launching pad to higher education or national team aspirations.
With softball returning to the Summer Olympic Games in 2020, Smith said he believes it will heighten the interest level in the sport. But as head coach of Canada’s highest softball team, he doesn’t just want to rest on the extra boost the Olympics will give the sport, but rather focus on changing how we develop athletes across Canada.
“What we need to do across the country is we just need to become more invested in how we are developing our talent and what is the pathway we have created to give our athletes a viable opportunity to become world class softball players,” said Smith.
“It’s a pipeline of how we develop the kids that makes the difference. There is no question an Olympic designation means you’re going to have more kids interested in coming through that pipeline, but then it becomes what do we do with them when they show up.”
Part of the new development model going forward is to streamline training across the country with regional development centres so that a player in Atlantic Canada is receiving the same training as one in British Columbia.
And while some provinces have an advantage due to geographical location or population size, at the end of the day, Smith said by offering the same intense training across the board will not only develop better players, but also cultivate a much stronger softball culture.
“It is the approach we need to take to start to standardize athlete development across the country,” said Smith. “And get a much better handle on where we are producing better athletes and being able to compare them to benchmarks so we know, if we have a young player in Quebec who someone says can these things at this age, if we compare her to a British Columbian athlete, that both athletes are able to do the same thing and we know we’ve started to do things right.”
If you have an interesting softball story to share, please email a.brethauer@gpls.ca
