SNCSA’s Timbits Saturdays aims to create love for softball

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

A youngster works on her swing at a Timbits Saturdays session.

The reward of watching youngsters improve keeps pulling Danielle Bertoncini back into coaching with the Saskatchewan North Central Softball Academy’s Timbits Saturdays program.

Bertoncini is an outfielder with the University of Saskatchewan Softball team and was contacted about a year ago about helping coach with Timbits Saturdays. The Timbits Saturdays program offers softball instruction to children aged five to 10 in one-hour long sessions that are held Saturday mornings at the Indoor Training Centre at the Gordie Howe Sports Complex from October to February.

Players that sign up for the program will take part in a total of six one-hour sessions.

They participate in activities and games that are patterned after informal playground games that promise fun and action. The activities are set up in a way to allow players with high and low skill levels to be involved.

“When they get better, it is very exciting to see,” said Bertoncini. “I’m very proud in all the kids that we see throughout the years.

“It is awesome to see them get better. It is just an unbelievable feeling. That is why I love coming back every time.

“I’m just like, ‘Yep. Sign me up,’ because I want to comeback. Seeing the kids get better is awesome. You really get to know the kids too and how they play and that kind of thing.”

The Timbits Saturday’s program is in its third season of operation. It was developed after the Indoor Training Centre opened on March 1, 2019 and first hit the field from October 2019 to February 2020.

Noreen Murphy, who is the Timbits Coordinator, said the SNCSA was looking to offer this fun instructional program in the off-season during a time that wouldn’t conflict with other activities youngsters might be involved in. The Saturday Morning time slot was a perfect fit.

Danielle Bertoncini teach pitching to a youngster.

“With the facility being available early in the morning, we just wanted to build off of that, so parents would know that this is always when it is going to be so they could schedule around the family events and activities for the kids,” said Murphy. “It has been pretty consistent.

“We sellout every time we put it out there. We’re excited about that. Lots of kids are learning more skills.”

During the Timbits Saturdays sessions, players participate in basic drills that teach the proper forms for throwing, catching and pitching. On the hitting side, players take part in drills that work on proper stance and swinging before proceeding to hit balls off a tee into a net.

Some of those drills are used with older age groups to help reinforce the basics.

On top of those drills, the players will do some activities that are basically playground games along with some short simulated mini games at the end of the session.

Murphy said the program tries to help young players develop physical literary, but the main focus is trying to ensure they are having fun.

“I’ve always said any time you are instructing whatever you are instructing it doesn’t matter the kids need to have fun at the end of the day,” said Murphy. “If they are not having fun, they won’t comeback.

“That is a huge part of it. You will see when we instruct or teach different skill sets in the sport of softball that we include different activities that don’t look like softball, but they are building the foundation of the ABCs I call them agility, balance and coordination. Those are the pieces that you need to be a strong player and athlete eventually.

“We work on those things. They’ve had a lot of fun here, so that is what it is at the end of the day.”

Kelsey Rokosh has a young daughter in the Timbits Saturdays program, who is always pumped up at the end of the sessions about what took place and immediately looks forward to coming back.

Youngsters practise pitching at a Timbits Saturdays session.

Rokosh said her daughter plays softball in the spring and her family was looking for a way to get in some extra skill development in the off-season. She said the Timbits Saturdays program fit her family’s schedule perfectly.

Rokosh watches the Timbits Saturdays sessions from the spectator loop on the second floor of the Indoor Training Centre and enjoys watching her daughter part in the action on the field below.

“They look really organized,” said Rokosh. “The kids look like they are having fun.

“We can see that they have learned some new skills.”

She was also impressed with how well the coaches interact with the young players.

“The coaches seem really great,” said Rokosh. “They are really involved, and they seem really supportive of the kids.”

Bertoncini said it has made her feel good to be able to come out and coach at the Timbits Saturdays sessions and give back to the game.

She has enjoyed teaching the basic skills of the game to young players. She said it has helped her game, because at the elite adult levels there is a lot of focus on the intricacies and strategies of the game.

“It is honestly good for me, because it is good to go back to the basics,” said Bertoncini. “At the end of the day, ball is very simple.

“Ball is about catching the ball, throwing the ball and receiving the ball, and then hitting the ball as well. It is really good to comeback to square one. Playing for the U of S, it happens really quick, and you have to be on your toes at all times.

“At the end of the day, we want kids to come out and play and that is how the sport continues to grow in Saskatoon here. It is good to comeback to square one and kind of slow it down again and get the little kids to really enjoy their time.”

A youngster throws the ball at a Timbits Saturdays session.

During the sessions, Bertoncini hopes she can help instill a love for the sport of softball like she has for the game. She wants them to have a great experience with the game, so they will keep coming back to it.

“We are just making sure we have them have fun in it, so they continue to play as they get older,” said Bertoncini. “That is often where people drop off.

“If they are not having fun in the sport or certain things are not going well, they tend to drop out. As long as we can make sure they are having fun and pushing themselves to be better, I think that is all we can really ask for.”

For more information about programs offered by the Saskatchewan North Central Softball Academy, feel free to check out sncsacademy.com.

Speed skating a tradition for Veeman family

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Luca Veeman leads a pack, and Chris Veeman follow at the rear.

Luca Veeman never thought he would lead his family back into the sport of speed skating.

About nine years ago, Luca was convinced by a friend to give the sport a try. At the time, it wasn’t on the forefront of Luca’s mind that his father, Chris, had skated with the Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating Club for a lengthy stretch while growing up.

Luca knew that his father was a speed skater in his youth, but that actually didn’t have any bearing on why Luca got interested in the sport. He thought it would be fun thing to try with his friend.

“I joined kind of along with him,” said Luca, who is one of the top skaters with the Lions at age 16. “I probably would have gotten involved regardless, but I guess that started a bit sooner than I would’ve without my friend joining.

“I think it has always just been fun from the beginning. As of like now, I can say I really like how the sport works in trying to get better times and the passing and skating fast. When I started, it was mostly just a fun weekday activity with my friends.”

Chris said the reason speed skating hadn’t been a big topic of discussion for his family was due to the fact he had forgotten about the sport for a long time. He first started in the sport when he was really young, because his parents were worried he was too skinny to play hockey and would get physically beat up in that sport.

As an alternative to registering for hockey, it was decided that Chris would sign up for speed skating. Growing up, he skated and trained with future Canadian Olympic superstar Catriona Le May Doan at the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval.

Around the time Chris was in Grade 11, he got into cycling at first as a way to cross train to help out with speed skating. Chris ended up liking cycling so much he quickly decided to focus on it as his main sport and stepped away from speed skating.

The idea of getting back into speed skating never crossed Chris’s mind until Luca decided to join the sport and sign up with the Lions Speed Skating Club.

“I think because I had a skating background the club kind of roped me in pretty quickly to coaching and getting involved with administering the club and stuff like that,” said Chris. “Since I am on the ice, I decided I might as well skate.”

Luca Veeman is one of the Lions top speed skaters.

In 2017, Chris decided in masters aged skating competitions. The masters age class is for skaters aged 30 or older, and skaters can keep taking part in those competitions as long as they feel they are able to.

These days, Chris, who is 48-years-old, is a masters class long track speed skater, a Lions coach and the president of the Lions Speed Skating Club. He has enjoyed getting the chance to take part in the sport as a skater once again at the masters level.

“It is a good group of people,” said Chris. “It is mostly older people, obviously.

“There aren’t that many people in their 30s and 40s in Canada that do it. It kind of seems to be more of thing you do maybe when you retire, especially the ones I met in Holland (Netherlands) and the northern European countries. They are all kind of retired professionals it seems like.

“No one takes it too seriously at that age. There are still some pretty competitive people. You get to pretend like you are an athlete again.”

As the years have gone on, the Veeman family presence in the sport and at the Clarence Downey Speed Skating Oval continued to grow. Currently, Luca’s younger 13-year-old brother, Mikko, and younger 11-year-old sister, Lena, are also members of the Lions program.

Luca is happy so many of his family members have gravitated to the sport. He said one of his best memories looking back now was getting paired against his father in a race.

Luca admitted that at the time he wasn’t thrilled about the end result of that race.

“I can remember one race in Calgary, where we were paired together in a long track race, and he came out on top,” said Luca, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 140 pounds. “I wasn’t so happy.

“Thankfully, now I think I’m a bit ahead now, which is nice. It is super fun to be able to like go out and skate with my dad and not just have him cheering from the sidelines.”

Chris Veeman skates, coaches and is president of the Lions.

Chris immediately chuckles when the subject of that race was brought up.

“I mostly remember the look on his (Luca’s) face afterwards,” said Chris, who stands 6-feet and weighs 190 pounds. “I think he really thought he was going to get me that time.

“We haven’t raced each other since then, but it wouldn’t even be close now. Back then, I would beat him by two-tenths of a second maybe. Now, he is about three seconds faster or maybe four seconds faster.”

In long track, both Chris and Luca skate in the 500-metre, 1,000-metre and 1,500-meter distances. Luca also takes part in five-kilometre races in long track and competes in short track. Chris coaches in the short track discipline.

At the Canadian Youth Long Track Championship held in early February of 2020 in Red Deer, Alta., Luca finished third in the 500-metre and second in the 1,500-metre distances in the division for all 14-year-old male skaters.

Luca felt like he making a name for himself nationally on a competitive level before the 2020-21 season was wiped out due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has gripped the world. This season is Luca’s first at the junior level, and he said he is adjusting to going against a large pool of fast skaters.

“I’ve been making steady steps,” said Luca, who is a Grade 11 student in the French immersion program at Walter Murray Collegiate. “The year before COVID it was a bit of a breakout year.

“I had some good results at bigger competitions. I think this year coming back I kind of skipped the last year of an age group. Now in a sense, I’ve been dropped off in the deep end of a larger age group being junior.

“I like to think I am still skating well and doing well. There are a lot less podiums and standing on top. That is just how it works.”

Luca said veteran Lions coach Tim Comfort and his father have been his biggest influences in helping him out in the sport. As for the future in the sport, Luca expects to pursue speed skating for as long as he can and plans to go to university in Calgary and skate there.

Chris, left, and Luca Veeman enjoy being in speed skating.

Chris said he will support Luca and all his kids in anything they choose to do. Chris added that Luca is an accomplished cyclist who finished sixth at junior men’s road nationals this past September in Saint-Georges, Quebec.

Chris said that Lena is really interested in soccer along with the sport of speed skating.

“For now, for all of us, we just really like speed skating, so we are going to stick with it,” said Chris. “It will be fun to watch what Luca gets up to in the next few years.

“The others are coming up behind him too.”

For more information about the Saskatoon Lions Speed Skating Club, feel free to check out their website at www.slspeedskating.com. The photo of Chris and Luca Veeman together is courtesy the Veeman family.