Veteran coach heads to Saskatoon
Sports Hall of Fame
By Darren
Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex
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| Adrianne Vangool, left, and Dave McCullough shake hands. |
He got into
the sport coaching his sons Devon and Darren and daughter Brielle (McCullough)
Frohaug. While he was coaching, the players on the teams he coached and their
families became like family.
With those
connections, McCullough’s teams have won a total of 27 provincial championships
over 22 years. During his time involved with softball, going into any type of
sports hall of fame was never a thought that crossed McCullough’s mind.
That all changed on June 14, when the 2023 class for the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame was announced at a press conference at the Gordie Howe Sports Centre building. McCullough was named as part of the 2023 class in the builders’ category for his contributions to the sport of softball as a coach and administrator.
“When
I found out about being inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame, I was
speechless,” said McCullough. “Being nominated was an accomplishment but being
accepted was overwhelming.
“(It
is an) unbelievable feeling going into the Hall and being in there with some of
the best athletes and builders is a true honor.”
McCullough will be joined in the 2023 class by two other inductees in the builders’ category in Derek Bloski for hockey and softball and Ivan Tam in athletics. Entering the Hall in the athletes category are Jeff Adamson in wrestling, Kelly Parker in Soccer, Kathy (Rollo) Seaman in diving, Adrianne Vangool in athletics and Heather Witzel in basketball.
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| Brielle (McCullough) Frohaug hits a homer for the G-Force in 2021. |
“It
feels pretty good to be inducted with the group that is being induct this
year,” said McCullough. “The Outlaws were an outstanding ladies team that I had
the opportunity to coach against in senior ladies Div. 1 ball when the
Saskatoon G-Force moved up from minor to the ladies league.
“They
(the Outlaws) were a great bunch of ladies with a huge amount of talent.”
McCullough
said the biggest blessing he got in softball was the fact he was able to coach
his kids to this very day. Devon and Darren play on the Saskatoon Angels senior
men’s team, while Brielle suits up for the Saskatoon G-Force senior women’s
team.
“To have coached all my kids has been the opportunity any father could wish for,” said McCullough. “That feeling is still going on as I am still coaching both my daughter’s team the G-Force and the Saskatoon Angels.
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| Devon McCullough in 2015. (Photo by Louis Christ) |
While
McCullough has made many great memories with sport, his most memorable moment
came in 2013, when he served as an assistant coach for Brielle’s Saskatoon
Scotiabank Selects midget girls’ team. The Selects made the Canadian Midget
Girls’ Championship Tournament held in Charlottetown, P.E.I., in August of
2013.
The
Selects advanced to the championship game, where they downed the White Rock Renegades
from B.C. 2-1. Brielle scored on a bases loaded walk in the top of first
inning. In the top of the sixth inning, Brielle drove in the winning run
nailing a triple into the left centre-field gap to score Ally Gallant from
first base.
The
Selects became the first team from Saskatoon to win a midget girls’ national
title. The core of that squad makes up the current G-Force senior women’s team.
“My
most rememberable memory would be winning Canadians with the Selects for the
first time and beating White Rock from B.C. in Prince Edward Island,” said
McCullough. “It was an amazing feeling as it was the first time a midget girls’
team from Saskatoon had won it.”
The
core group from that Selects team would win a Canadian Junior Women’s
Championship as the Saskatoon Co-Op G-Force in 2016, and McCullough was an
assistant coach with that squad. Last year, McCullough was the head coach of
the G-Force as they won Softball
Saskatchewan’s Women’s A Provincial Championship at Joe Gallagher Field. The
G-Force slipped past the Carnduff Southeast Steelers 1-0.
“Winning
never gets old,” said McCullough reflecting on last year’s provincial title win
by the G-Force. “It gets better each time you go into a big contest and your
team digs down and gives everything they have and leaves it on the field.
“It is
amazing to watch. I have been blessed to have coached on both the men’s and
women’s teams extremely talented athletes that never say never. (They) just get
on the train and let’s ride.”
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| The G-Force pictured after winning a provincial title in 2022. |
Canada made
the event’s championship game taking on powerhouse and defending champion New
Zealand at Bob Van Impe Stadium. Devon entered that contest in the top of the
third inning with Canada trailing 4-0.
He pitched
a gem the rest of the way allowing Canada to rally for a 10-5 victory. That
contest became one of the signature moments in the history of the Gordie Howe
Sports Complex.
“Man,
what a feeling to see your son come in the 3rd inning and pitch the team to
victory and the gold medal at the world championships,” said McCullough. “It
was a moment in my life I will never forget with 7,500 fans yelling ‘Devo,
Devo.’
“It’s an absolute rush and for him to strike out some of the best batters was such a great way to rap up the tournament.”
While the upcoming Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame induction has helped McCullough reflect on his career in softball, he still expects to make more memories in the sport.
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| Part of the 2023 Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame class with Dave McCullough. |
“The
game of softball has been my passion and a game that would be hard to say goodbye
to. For now, my future is up in the air and I will take each year step by step.”
