Mike Renney, head coach of the Simon Fraser University Clan (SFU) and former national team coach, was in Sechelt this week working with young softball players.
Renney was joined by Sasha Olson, a graduate of the SFU program in 1999 and former national team member Kim Rossiter, who graduated from SFU this spring. Rossiter should be with the national team, but a broken thumb has put her on the disabled list.
Also teaching at the skills clinic were current SFU players Danielle Kerluke and Carolyn Bell.
The clinic, hosted by the Sechelt Minor Softball Association, was held over three days at Hackett Park.
Renney said he was impressed by the commitment of the players who took part.
"A number of months ago I was contacted by the local association. They were really enthusiastic about doing something up here," said Renney. "I said if we get the numbers it could be worthwhile. I was hoping to get maybe 20 or 25 kids and we have 45. I'm very impressed with what they did at the local level.
"We do a number of what we call grassroots softball clinics throughout the province. For us, it gives us an opportunity for our varsity athletes to be role models in communities, to improve their presentation and teaching skills and the main thing, to give back to the sport. In certain communities like this that don't have the opportunities because of cost and travel, rather than them come to us, we come to them. We hope when we leave, we have some more keen, motivated softball players that will continue the passion of the sport."
Renney said it's important to get to players at a young age and teach them the proper skills.
"This is a grassroots clinic, so we cover all the skills and give them a taste of everything," he said. "We'll do the infield, the outfield, some pitching and hitting. We'll do some base running and sliding, play some games. Give them a full taste of all the skills involved in the game. I think what we often find is the legacy we leave behind. You might not see it right away, but in two or three years you actually see a jump in their improvement."
Renney has been coach at SFU for 11 years. This past season, he helped lead SFU to its third national championship. He also coached the national team for many years, taking that squad to three Olympic games.
"It was my time to step away from the national program," he said. "If I was coaching with the national team, I certainly couldn't be here doing this."
Last week the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that softball and baseball would be dropped from the games by 2012.
Renney said he was disappointed by the announcement, but not surprised.
"Politics of sport transcends borders. I think we suffered the fate of baseball, because baseball couldn't release their top athletes," Renney said. "The Olympics are all about having the best. I'm not one to say that softball absolutely deserved to be there over other sports.
"There are other sports lobbying to get into the Olympics. Rugby is a world-wide sport, golf wants in, karate wants in, squash wants in. Are we better than their sports? I don't think so.
"We will continue to do what we do. We have several world-class tournaments, we have scholarship opportunities for girls, and that will remain in place. It does change the perspective because you attach the Olympic rings to anything and all of a sudden it adds the extra measure of credentials. We're going to have to rely on the fact we have three more years until the next Olympics and make hay while the sun shines."
But despite this news, Renney said clinics like the one held in Sechelt still have to go on.
"We're always looking for local talent all over the province," he said. "Sasha came from the tiny community of Valemont. She had no aspirations to play with SFU, let alone the national team. She was attending SFU and she tried out for the softball team because she wanted to meet some friends. Low and behold she was good enough to stick and earn her spot and she went on to play for Canada. She's our Cinderella story and you know what, there's lots of Cinderella's out there.
"Over the last four or five years we've started to compete at the international level. We've closed the gap against the US, Australia and Japan. They put millions into their programs and we've put in $300,000. "There are reasons for us not to succeed, but there's one very good reason to succeed and that's because we're Canadian."
