21K -- NOV 2020 // ISSUE 2 -- WWW.UTMFASTPITCH.COM

We have chosen our newsletter name. 21K will be published each month to share news & updates across the UTM Fastpitch Canada Network. We thank you in advance for taking time to read this month's edition.

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OFF SEASON IN FULL SWING In this Issue Teams Set to Begin Off-Season Training Plans HEADLINERS P1

After a bit of down time in the month of October we are now seeing some of the affiliated teams beginning their off-season MEET DURHAM U16 P2 training plans. As the COVID case level varies in different regions, so do the training scenarios available to teams. The UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT P3 situation is ever changing, UTM will work with program leaders, and PWSA where applicable, to ensure that our athletes remain STAY HEALTHY P4 safe & able to participate in training sessions to prepare for the 2021 summer season. NOVEMBER CHALLENGE P4 UTM ZOOM SERIES LAUNCHES HALLOWEEN FUN P5 Episode 1 - Danielle Lawrie PWSA UPDATE P6 On November 16th we held our first Zoom Speaker Session, and our guest speaker was WNT member Danielle Lawrie. During the session Danielle spoke about her college career, her experiences playing the sport, and offered advice for those on the call to become better overall. The full episode is available here

2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 1 UTM DURHAM

Here is a detailed article on our U16 Durham program from Coach Eric Heron In March COVID-19 put the season on hold. The days In the Fall of 2019, our vision of creating a new girls U16 turned into weeks and the weeks turned into the Fastpitch team in Durham Region became a reality. UTM months. Zoom calls were the norm, not only to Durham was finally here, along with thirteen exceptional continue our training but it provided us with an players from Durham, East York and Colborne. The team opportunity to see everyone again. Training in the consisted of many players that were encountering the backyard, garage or basement became the way of life rep system for the first time & we were fortunate to and we all hoped that we could hit the diamond once sprinkle in a few players that we were able to rely upon again, and share their rep experience with the team.

Finally in July of 2020, we received the green light As the offseason began, the team worked hard on their from the PWSA that we could practice on the field. training, and to become involved in the local community. That first day back on the diamond was truly We partnered with CAREA Community Health Centre to something special, as we all missed this place we participate in their Christmas hamper program. The called home during the summer months. Although team volunteered several hours helping put together there would not be any official games or tournaments, Christmas gifts and baskets together for families in we were able to participate in exhibition games. The need. team trained hard and on August 27, 2020, almost a year from tryouts, our team played in its first In 2020, the team ramped up its training and was able to exhibition game against the Cobourg Angels. The work with Sierra Bertrand a former Niagara University nerves were high but the girls' passion never wavered Softball player and former Women’s National team and the team showed that we were able to compete at member. The experience was invaluable, as the girls this level. (continued on page 5) learned from Sierra, that hard work and dedication to your training could manifest into a scholarship or an opportunity to play for your country.

GRACE COMMITS TO THOMAS COLLEGE

EASTERN U19 PLAYER CEILEIDH HARNUM

Congratulations to U19 Eastern Ontario catcher Ceileidh Grace Harnum on her commitment to play NCAA Softball in 2021 with Thomas College. Thomas College is a Division 3 program located in Maine. UTM looks forward to hearing about her exploits in 2021 as she begins this exciting new chapter in her softball playing career. Harnum made the announcement a couple weeks back on her Instagram feed. "I am extremely excited for the opportunity, softball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I look forward to being able to play with the Terriers" she noted. For more information on the Thomas College program, you can go here: https://athletics.thomas.edu/sports/softball

2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 2 COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

WINDSOR LANCERS What are some fun facts about the team? The University of Windsor Fastpitch team has won the "Moriarty Award" UTM had a chance to speak to Paul Scott the head coach 2 of the past 4 seasons. The Moriarty Award is presented of the Windsor Lancer program... to the Varsity team with the top Academic average at the Lancer Gala celebrating the Varsity Accomplishments. In What does the University of Windsor specialize in? 2019, the Lancer Fastpitch team boasted 6 All-Canadian The University of Windsor is known for their Human Academic Athletes. The team organizes and runs many Kinetics, Engineering, Nursing, Law and Business community-oriented events. A couple of events are; (1) programs. We have members of all these programs on the working with athletes in the Miracle League providing team and the senior players help the junior members opportunity for children and adults with disabilities to with their studies. play softball, (2) organizing and gathering products and food for local women's shelter and the food bank, and an What separates Windsor from other OIWFA programs? organized team blood drive. Our team takes great pride The University of Windsor Fastpitch team is included in the number of fans and boosters that travel with us to with and treated the same as the other Varsity Sports watch our league and playoff games. We have programs at the University of Windsor. It is a partially outnumbered the home team's fans on numerous funded program at the University.The philosophy of my occasions. fastpitch program is the enhancement of the athletes' See more on page 7 University experience and development of leadership skills through the sport of fastpitch. My priority for the athletes are; Family comes first, Academics are next and my team comes third. I completely understand and promote family and academics before the sport. The team is a sisterhood, and the athletes help each other in all facets of the University path and form study groups and have social outings together. 2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 3 STAYING HEALTHY

A New Feature Page on UTM FASTPITCH.COM

This month we have started a new feature page on our website, the page will be a heath and wellness blog called Staying Healthy. Each week U of W student Aimee Leduc will share some quick tips to promote healthy living.

In Aimee's first blog post she discussed the reasons as to why a warm-up is important before starting NOVEMBER #UTMCHALLENGE any workout, which fits right into our 30-DAYS OF WALKING #UTMCHALLENGE for November in which we are encouraging athletes and their families to walk each day in the month. Lots of athletes & their families are participating daily in our November UTM Challenge. We have Here is a snapshot from the blog: "If you're going asked that athletes get out and be active this month. out for a run you need to properly warm up your A daily walking assignment is assigned each muscles. A good way to do so is to do the dynamic calendar day, and the athletes can report their warm-up you would normally do with your team at progress to their team leader. practice. If it's cold outside it's especially important to make sure you're warm, so you may need to spend a little bit longer warming up your Those that complete each of the 30-days are eligible body! The most important muscles to get warm for to have their name drawn for a NIKE gift card. a run are your quadriceps, which are the muscles Furthermore athletes can earn points daily towards in the front of your legs, and your hamstrings with their team total. are the muscles in the back of your legs."

Make sure to follow all the fun on our Instagram feed, where we are sharing athletes' photos of themselves & family & friends out walking in their communities.

2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 4 HALLOWEEN FUN

UTM Clubs Had Fun With the Halloween Season

During the month of October many of the UTM clubs participated in some form of pumpkin carving/decorating event to help build team spirit. We were able to get lots of great photos of the teams enjoying these activities. Thank you to all the leaders that participated in these days & nights during the month of October.

DURHAM U16 CONTINUED...

At Right... Athletes at the CAREA Hamper Program

At the end of the 2020 season, UTM Durham competed in eight exhibition games and ended up with a 5-3 record. The coaches were extremely proud of the girls. All of their hard work really paid off and it was nice to see the smiles of each player as they played the game they love. Throughout the exhibition season, the team also formed a friendly partnership with the Oshawa Lady B’s. We would like to thank their organization for all of their help and support. They are a testament of what the softball community is all about, helping others for the love of the game. As the 2021 season is upon us, there is still a lot of uncertainty of what the new season will look like. It is unknown if we will have tournaments, Provincials or Easterns, or if we will be relegated to pod play. No matter what happens in 2021, what we do know is that UTM Durham has made a name for itself in the softball community and is ready to work hard and compete no matter what the venue. 2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 5 PWSA UPDATES

Updates from the PSO

PWSA has reached out to associations this month to encourage them to reach out to one of the three Ontario leagues (Grand Valley, Peel-Halton, or CEWFL) or to PWSA directly with respect to their plans for 2021. PWSA in the communication advised that as of this moment it appears that cohort/pod play will be expected at some level for the summer of 2021. Final numbers on the sizes of the cohorts will not be known for some time, but the feeling is that these pods will play each other over the summer season, and from each cohort/pod a certain number of teams will qualify for the provincial tournaments, leading then to Eastern Canadians or Nationals.

Traditionally many of the UTM affiliated teams have opted out of league play and just run their own exhibition schedule. That line of thinking may need to be adjusted if the only method to participate in provincials is via the league cohorts/pods. A working group has been created with leaders of the three leagues in Ontario and PWSA. A more detailed plan is to be communicated at the PWSA AGM to be held at the end of November.

AFFILIATION LINKS

Here are the links needed. UTM Fastpitch Canada has already affiliated the Association for 2020/2021

Each affiliated team is accountable for completing the team affiliation process by the deadlines noted on the PWSA site. PWSA Affiliation (Team) - https://www.pwsaontario.com/general-info/affiliations/

WHAT'S NEXT

Here are some upcoming events to keep note of:

PWSA AGM - November 28th UTM December Challenge - December 1st Grand Valley Fall Meeting - December 6th UTM Zoom Speaker Series - Session 2 December 14 (Jenna Ciara)

UTM FASTPITCH CANADA

2 1 K N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 - P A G E 6 WINDSOR Q&A...

What does it cost to play softball at the University? The annual team fee for the University of Windsor Fastpitch team is $250 per player. This covers the entire expenses of the University Season for everything, including all items ranging from diamond fees, equipment, and all the travel costs. This is a total athlete cost for everything Lancer Fastpitch related.

What does a road weekend look like for your team? The Lancer Fastpitch Team's travel partner is the Western Mustangs. Travel may consist of a double-header on a Friday night under the lights utilizing multiple rented travel Who should potential students reach out to? My email is a great vans, an arranged stay in a local hotel, with another double place to start [email protected]. We also have a team website header in the general area on the Saturday, another which can be found here: overnight stay culminating in a third double header on the https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=lancerfastpitch Sunday before travelling back to Windsor. Typically, there are two or sometimes three (on the off year) travel Where can you be found on social media? weekends. The team often refer to these as "special" and "team bonding" trips. The athletes have begun to refer to themselves as a "band of sisters". This is the results of the @LancerFastpitch or @CoachPaulScott travel weekends.

What motivates you as leader of the Lancer program? The @WindsorLancerFastpitch athletes improving their ball and leadership skills while playing a sport that they love! I just had a graduating Lancer Fastpitch athlete tell me that of all the teams that she has played on that this was the most cherished experience of her life. She furthered that she became a better person and LOOKING FOR INFO ball player while involved in my program and that this made her University experience the best possible for her. It is this exact by-product of the Lancer Fastpitch program that Each month we will feature a post-secondary school, but if you are keeps me and my associate coaches coming back year after looking for specific information or contacts for a college or year. university below are the two league websites:

How long have you been coach? Who assists you? I have Ontario University: https://oiwfa.org/ been the Head Coach of the team for 5 years. (Paul Scott is inducted into the Essex County/City of Windsor Fastpitch Ontario College: https://www.ocaa.com/sports/fastball/index Hall of Fame & a Learning Facilitator for Softball Ontario) Dan Russell Don Hunt Ryan Bradd Jeff Colombe Amanda Simke

Where do you play your home games? We play our home games at the historic Turtle Club facility in LaSalle https://turtleclubbaseball.com/

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