Richmond Girls Softball may need to consider a name change if a recent surge in registration for one particular age group continues.
The long-running association still offers programs and teams from the sport’s grassroots level right through to midget. It’s beyond that where there has been considerable growth.
RGSA is fielding four senior women’s teams this season — providing roughly 70 players and opportunity to continue their careers beyond high school. The majority are alumni from the Islanders’ rep program and other Lower Mainland associations. Richmond is fielding three at the senior “A” or “B” levels and another at House ball.
“It definitely has become a focus for us,” said RGSA senior/junior co-ordinator Tracy Sherlock. “We have never had four teams before. (What makes it work) is having very large rosters. The girls can still work and it’s not the end of the world if they miss a game. We try to be as flexible as possible.”
The association has found senior ball is an attractive off-season option for university players. RGSA hosted its first-ever senior tournament last weekend at London Park which featured 10 teams competing in two divisions.
Al Groff’s Senior “A” Islanders squad captured the top flight with a 3-1 win over the Fleetwood Force in Sunday’s championship game. The victory was worth $500 in prize money which will help with future tournament fees.
“There is an influx of people who go play college ball and their coaches tell them to go find a team to play for,” explained Groff, a longtime coach who also serves as the RGSA rep chair. “We had (Richmond) kids going everywhere until we decided to have a team right here.
“We had one team Senior ‘B’ for a while then (Softball Canada) got rid of a year in midget so we had our ’92 and ’93 teams going out at the same time. Suddenly these two longtime rivals formed a junior ‘B’ team.”
The Islanders enjoyed instant success and promptly moved up to the senior ranks. Richmond hosted the 21-team senior “B’ provincials in 2013 and finished second which automatically pushed the locals to the “A” level for the past two seasons. That has opened the door for some of the country’s top players to randomly helping out.
With a small roster due to work commitments, the Islanders welcomed national team player Jocelyn Cater who was fresh off her season at Syracuse University. She will soon be joining Team Canada in preparation for the upcoming Pan Am Games.
“One of the girls said they had a friend who could help us out and that’s who it was,” laughed Groff. “We are lucky to have her and everyone is learning something from her.”
Groff’s roster also features local university standouts.
Shayla Kaplan and Katie Sherlock enjoyed impressive seasons for the UBC Thunderbirds.
Kaplan earned First team Conference and All-Tournament honours, while Sherlock was named Conference Freshman of the Year. The Islanders also welcomed back Sydney Jeffers from her junior season at University of Jamestown in North Dakota.
All three are Islanders for life.
“We are all here because we love the game and being here to play for our hometown association,” smiled Kaplan.
“I think our parents would miss it too much if we didn’t (keep) playing,” laughed Jeffers.
“My coach really encourages this to keep our skills up and there are not a lot of programs like this in the States.”
Sherlock was planning to take a break after her university season but it didn’t take long to realize what she would be missing.
“I told my mom I really thought I needed some time off but sure enough on Monday night I was at the park,” she said. “This is the sport I love and it’s pretty much my life.”
