Storied softball coaching path to Hall had start in
Lloydminster
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Noreen Murphy, right, is inducted into the SSHF. |
In October of that year, Murphy made a work-related move to Lloydminster, which is the small centre that is famous for sitting on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. She went there with the reputation of being a standout softball player having been a member of the Saskatoon Harmony Centres team that won the Canadian Senior A title in 1980. That Harmony Centres team played at the World Games in 1981 at Santa Clara, Calif., and fell 2-1 to the United States in the event’s championship game.
When Murphy
arrived in Lloydminster, the Blues under-19 women’s team was looking for
coaching help. Blues head coach Brian Gislason phoned Murphy in December of
1984 about joining the squad’s coaching staff.
“It is bizarre when you think about it,” said Murphy. “I was
up there, and of course, he (Brian Gislason) knew who I was.
“I played with Saskatoon, and we had a rivalry with the
Lashburn Bluebirds. Everybody knows you in that area. He just said, ‘Oh my God.
We need some help here with the team. We don’t have anybody else stepping
forward.’
“He got my number from some of the Lashburn Bluebirds I
believe and just gave me a call.”
Murphy said “yes” and the Blues claimed Canadian championships in 1985 and 1986. After the Blues second title win, Murphy relocated back to Saskatoon in 1987 and took up the head coaching role with the Lorne’s Lazers.
At that
point, Murphy’s softball coaching career was off and running. It was a career
that saw Murphy coach at the national team level for Softball Canada for 14
years on two separate seven-year stints. She first applied to coach with
Softball Canada at the urging of Bob Van Impe, who served as the president of
the national sports body from 1969 to 1986.
Murphy was
part of the senior national women’s team staff when Canada played at the
Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States and in 2004 in
Athens, Greece. One of the big highlights came in 2003, when Murphy was the
head coach of the junior women’s national team that played at that year’s world
championships in Nanjing, China. Canada finished fifth in that event after
falling 1-0 in a playoff game to the hosts in front of 10,000 boisterous fans.
She also
helped develop and mentor other coaches. Murphy chaired Softball Canada’s
Long-Term Player Development Committee, which created the Athlete Development
Matrix for all stages of player development.
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| A wall mount for the SSHF class of 2023. |
On
September 23 at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina, Murphy was inducted into the
Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in the builders’ category. Looking back on her
career, Murphy said everything came about because she agreed to be on the
coaching staff of the Blues teams that won Canadian championships in 1985 and
1986.
“What if I would have said, ‘No?’” said Murphy. “None of
this would have been happening for sure.”
Murphy entered the Hall with six other distinguished
individuals. In the athletes’ category, entering the Hall were multisport star
Jaime (Cruickshank) Boyer of Saskatoon, hockey player Ryan Getzlaf of Regina,
soccer player Joan McEachern of Leroy and hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser
from Shaunavon.
Joining Murphy in the Hall in the builders’ category were
Lorne Lasuita of Wynyard for his work in multiple sports and Bernadette
McIntyre of Bethune for her work in curling.
“The evening was top notch,” said Murphy. “It was a star
affair.
“It was really well done. It was just good to see a whole
bunch of sports people I hadn’t scene in a few years. It was really nice for
that too.
“It was a great class our 2023 induction class. It was a
good one. It was good, really good.”
Murphy received a phone call on a Saturday morning in February from Hall Chair Trent Blezy informing her that she would be entering the Hall as a builder as part of the 2023 class. At first, Murphy said she wasn’t going to pick up her phone, because she didn’t recognize the number on the call display.
She then had a feeling that the call might be important.
Murphy said it was cool to hear the news that you were going into the Hall.
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| Noreen Murphy’s display at the SSHF. |
“I’m very proud. I was excited. (I give) just a big huge
thanks to be a small part of sport history in the province.”
At the start of her coaching career, Murphy remembers asking
Gislason to be patient with her, because she knew nothing about coaching. From
that point, she created a whole host of memories in the sport.
The most memorable moment came seeing her junior national team
put up a strong fight losing that 1-0 playoff game at the 2003 world championships to the host side
in Nanjing, China.
“That was my biggest highlight,” said Murphy. “Going to two
Olympic Games was great too, but when you are leading the team (it’s different).
“When you have all the decisions to make at the top end of
that and you are traveling in October to an entirely different culture, the
drums are playing when you arrive until when you leave basically. I still say
we should have won the game, but that is OK. If we would have (won), we would
have made history for Canada.
“It would have been the first time playing for a medal in
junior ball. It was a great, great couple of weeks there for sure.”
These days Murphy is enjoying helping young children learn the
game in the Timbits programs. She said it is rewarding to see the excitement of
the really young players when they get a handle on a new skill.
“It certainly is a little bit different than working at the
top end that is for sure,” said Murphy. “I’m going into my sixth year of doing
this for them.
“I’ve learned a lot there is no doubt about that. The
program is in good shape. We’re developing kids a lot better than we did in the
past, because there is structure to it.
“We’re orientating our coaches a lot more that are working
with the young group, because it is their first time ever coaching with young
ones. At the training centre there, we’ve been fortunate enough to have good
numbers, and they continue to be pretty good. Those players that come there they
all sign up for spring ball in May and June which is great.”
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| Noreen Murphy, centre, address a Timbits Saturdays group. |
“They need lots of reps,” said Murphy.“The more reps they
can get the better, and they are learning the right way.
“As I say to the moms and dads all the time, it is about
keeping the kids busy, making them sweat a little bit and just having a whole
bunch of fun.”
And with that involvement, Murphy will continue her giving back to the softball community for the foreseeable future. She will keep adding to a legacy that was built saying “yes” to a coaching request made almost 40 years ago.
The first three photos in this post are courtesy of Noreen Murphy’s collection. The video comes courtesy the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
