For the first time, the Eastman Wildcats will have all the ages together on the same weekend in the same place, as they host their Wildcats Weekend Showcase at their home diamonds in Friedensfeld.
"It's something that we've never, ever done before," explains Jason Plett, coach of the U15 team. "We've never had it where all of our teams have been playing at our home diamond in Friedensfeld all weekend long. We're really excited that we all get to spend all this time together."
Something to look up to
Having the younger-aged players have an opportunity to watch the older teams in person is huge, according to Plett, who believes it'll be a big boost for the programs. "With the new U13 team coming up, or the team this year, it's awesome that they get to kind of meet everyone. Like last weekend, we were in Saskatoon for a tournament, but they had to go play in Warman, which is just 15 minutes north of Saskatoon. You really didn't get to spend time together with them all that much or see them play. This weekend will be pretty cool just to be able to support each other and just be there for each other all weekend long. It'll be a lot of fun. It's an important step in their development. I coached U13 the last two years, and this year I moved up to U15, and before coaching U13, I was with the U15's and 17s, so I see it as a very important stepping stone just to see how you can develop and where you can get to if you keep up the hard work and have a dedication to the sport."
Home field advantage
Being at home in Friedensfeld is a big deal for the Wildcats, and Plett says they appreciate all that they do to support the teams. "Having Friedensfeld as their home field, it's been super cool," he says with a smile. "They've been so accommodating to us. They always run a fantastic canteen whenever we host a provincial or some sort of event. So this weekend as well, they're going to be setting up a canteen tonight and then all day through the day Saturday as well as Sunday. So you can come eat their famous poutine and probably have a burger or a hot dog, and it's going to be really good. I know the staff there always takes such great care of the diamonds. We never have to worry about having holes and divots or whatever in the playing field itself. Sometimes it takes a while to get thought out in springtime, but once it gets going, it's one of the best fields you can play in Manitoba, that is for sure."
It takes a village
Many people have worked hard to make this weekend possible, as Plett details. "Lots of emails and communication just trying to line up for the league or the Manitoba Premier Softball League, just to make sure that they're on board as well to schedule all the games. For us during this weekend, all the games that we are playing this weekend are part of our league schedule. It's things like getting the umpires together. MPSL does that, but we just need to make sure our schedule is pretty clear to them. So they can arrange the proper staff to be here. The board members themselves, they just try to get the message out there, get the excitement up, not only just in the Eastman Wildcats community, but also in the entire southeastern community where Eastman is a part of. Just trying to get the word out there, get the excitement up for all the kids who could possibly be an Eastman Wildcat in the future. Promoting the sport and making sure everyone knows that there is a higher level available to them if they want to pursue that."
Everyone is welcome to come
Friedensfeld is great for ball players, but also for spectators who want to come check out the games, something Plett says would mean the world to Wildcats' players. "It would be huge," he says with a grin. "If we could pack the stands for all the games, I know the girls would be smiling ear to ear all game long and all day long, just seeing the amount of people that are there. We're trying to really get to the U9 to U13 age groups. We're hosting a skills clinic on Saturday from 4 p. m. to 6 p. m. You can sign up online, and then it's $25 for the two-hour clinic. We're putting this together just to see if we can get the skills out there and knowledge for these young girls, and then hopefully they really enjoy it and then maybe want to pursue it that much more and then maybe we see them at a future tryout in the next coming years. That's really what this weekend was geared toward. Promoting our sport to the southeast community and just and helping helping the young girls aspire for maybe more."
On top of that, there's a draw going on throughout the weekend, as Plett explains. "We are hosting our 50-50 draw. It concludes on Sunday. So online, as well, you can purchase tickets online through this, and all the proceeds from this 50-50 draw go towards our travel to upcoming National or Western championships. So it's really important for the girls and families to try and get the pot as high as we can. Hopefully, some lucky winner who's attending the Wildcats Weekend Showcase will be the winner and will be sure to experience that excitement with them on Sunday."
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