Club give locals place to play at
home at a high level
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Thora Reynolds (#16) drives a ball into the outfield. |
While the club team has a relatively short history first hitting the field in 2008, it gives players in Saskatoon and the provincial softball community an avenue to combine academics and play at a high level in the post-secondary scene. The club also allows those players to stay home or close to home.
The U of S team has won the Western Collegiate Softball
Association title on five occasions including 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2016. Along with the WCSA championships, U
of S has won two Canadian Collegiate Softball Association titles including the
team’s inaugural campaign in 2008 and 2016.
Growing up
playing softball in Saskatoon or anywhere in Saskatchewan, players dream of
playing the sport at the NCAA Division I level in the United States. For a lot
of players as they get older, a desire develops to play at home or closer to home, and that is
where the U of S Softball program fills an important role.
For utility
infielder Thora Reynolds who grew up playing minor softball in Saskatoon, the
pull to go play in the United States was there, but it ultimately made more
sense for her situation to stay home.
“I think staying home was a big factor because I went
through the 222’s (Fastpitch) program, and lots of girls that I knew they went to the
States to play college,” said Reynolds, who is in her second season with the U
of S Softball club. “That was definitely an option I was considering, but I
think education was a big thing for me and also just being able to stay home
not having to go to the States.
“The whole atmosphere of the team was great and you can have
kind of shorter season but still have that competitive energy about the team.
It brings the sport to life. I love it.”
Reynolds
has played softball for 10 years and grew up playing in the Hustlers Zone of
the Saskatoon Minor Softball League and suited up for the Saskatoon Selects under-19
AA team this past summer. She graduated in June of 2022 with the highest
average of all Grade 12 students at Centennial Collegiate, which resulted in
the Saskatoon Public School Division giving her a Proficiency Award.
At U of S,
Reynolds, who is 19-years-old, studies in the biomedical sciences
program. Reynolds said staying at home was a better fit for her educational
goals. She added the level of play of the U of S Softball team and the league
it plays out of is high, and it is important for local players to have that
option to continue playing the sport.
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| Thora Reynolds is a high achiever academically. |
“We don’t get as much recognition as we should I think. Just
having the opportunity to play ball especially in Saskatchewan it is super
awesome. It is definitely worth it.”
While
Reynolds is a Saskatoon product who joined the U of S Softball team, first year
outfielder Rachel Siwak came to the club via Melfort, Sask. She began playing
softball with the Prince Albert Aces under-12 program before joining her
hometown Melfort Spirit under-14 team.
This past
summer, Siwak was one of Reynolds teammates on the Selects under-19 AA team.
Siwak elected to join the U of S Softball club due to the fact Stacey Thomson,
who has a very decorated softball resume, was the team’s head coach.
“Basically, I played with the 222’s growing up, and Stacey
is the outfield coach of the 222’s,” said Siwak. “I became really fond of her,
and I loved playing for her.
“When the opportunity presented itself for me to come to
school at the University of Saskatchewan, I thought there would be no better
team for me to play on than this team. I reached out to Stacey and here I am.”
A graduate
of Melfort and Unit Comprehensive Collegiate, Siwak, who is 18-years-old, is
studying business at the U of S and hopes to get into the College of Law. Along
with the fact her educational plans line up with what U of S offers
academically, Siwak wanted to play at a place where it was close enough for her
family to come to games.
When the U
of S hosted a number of regular season games at Bob Van Impe Stadium, Joe
Gallagher Field and Glenn Reeve Field #3 from August 25 to 27, Siwak had a
sizable group of family members in the stands that came out to support her. She
also had a great first impression of the environment on the team.
“From the first practices, all the girls are like really
inclusive,” said Siwak. “With me being (one of) the youngest, I thought it
would be more challenging, but they are really great at just like bringing
everybody together.
“The older girls they are really supportive of the younger
girls. Even after the first game, I just feel like they made me feel apart of
the team and not just like a new rookie.”
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| Rachel Siwak wants to get into the College of Law in the future. |
With U of S
having strong academic programs, Thomson said it was important to have the U of
S Softball program in Saskatoon to give players from Saskatoon and across
Saskatchewan an extra reason to stay home or close to home to pursue academics
and athletics. While she focuses on attracting players from in province,
Thomson is open to adding players from out of province, if the situation lines up
for it.
She said
the U of S Softball team has one out of province player in Amanda Paquette, who
joined the club as a walk-on. Paquette was originally going to go to the United
States to play hockey but elected to pursue her educational goals at the U of
S. Once at U of S, she decided to join the U of S Softball team.
“I think that it allows girls that maybe would have gone
down south to stay here for a really great university,” said Thomson. “There
are so many colleges and opportunities at the U of S.
“It is top rate education rather than going down south and
not having the academic side of it as much. I used to be the academic advisor
in kinesiology and in psychology, so I got perspective from seeing student
athletes trying to get transfer credit. Often times, they’ll go down to school (in
the United States) and spend so much money and then come back here, and they
won’t have a lot of transfer credit to show for it.”
Thomson said she has heard from parents and other coaches that the U of S Softball team is comparable to programs in the United States. She said she has a pretty strong coaching staff from Saskatoon and area that becomes another factor in athletes deciding to play at U of S.
One of
those assistant coaches is Karmen Twordik, who played for the Carnduff
Southeast Steelers to took part in Softball Canada’s U23 Women’s and Women’s
Canadian Fast Pitch Championship tournament in L’Ile-Perrot, Quebec, this past
August 16 to 20. Twordik was a named a tournament all-star in the outfield and
helped the Steelers down Ontario’s Oakville Angels under-23 team 1-0 in the
event’s gold medal game.
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| The U of S Softball team celebrates a home run. |
“I think that it is a little bit more laid back, but it is
still competitive,” said Thomson. “There is some pride in playing for Saskatoon
and for your home province.”
