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44 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012 Might high school softball in Halton be on its way out? By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR I t lost its status as an Olympic sport several years ago, and its popularity in Ontario has taken a hit in recent years. Now, with a rapidly-eroding player base to draw from, might girls' softball be on the way out of Halton high school sports? Halton Secondary School Athletic Association (HSSAA) convener Darrin Curtis thinks it just might be. "I don't want to say it's a dying sport," Curtis says. "But it kind of is." Curtis has plenty of reason to be concerned about the viability of high school softball. Just three years ago, the HSSAA league seemed alive and well with 11 teams. But in 2010, the loop went down to nine squads. Last year, it scaled down even further to six. Now, just four schools -- Iroquois Ridge, Holy Trinity, White Oaks and Georgetown's Christ the King -- will compete in the HSSAA girls' softball "I really miss season that starts next week. Former strong programs like T.A. Blakelock, (softball)... It just Notre Dame and Georgetown died off. It wasn't District (the latter won nine of 10 even a gradual Halton titles from 1995-2005) are thing. It was kind gone, as are all schools from of like, boom." Burlington and Milton. Not that there will be a shortage Longtime of high school girls in the region T.A. Blakelock still running the bases this spring. softball coach The HSSAA's girls' slo-pitch league, Ron Larose which began in 2007 as an alternative to windmill-pitching softball, has since grown from five teams to 15. But slo-pitch isn't even close to being softball, windmillpitching enthusiasts lament. No pitching, no chance "I really miss (softball)," says Ron Larose, the longtime coach at Blakelock who had to switch to slo-pitch a couple years ago because of a shortage of rep softball players. "I thought the game was great, and the kids back in those days loved it. It just died off. It wasn't even a gradual thing. It was kind of like, boom." The most convincing "(Slo-pitch is) just a argument for slo-pitch over better game for the softball is that it levels the kids. They're going to playing field. Pitching is feel more successful, it's everything in softball -- perhaps even more so than base- not as intimidating. ball -- and any school with They'll just have a little two quality arms (pitchers more fun." have a limit of 12 outs, or four innings, per game) tend- Georgetown District softball/ ed to dominate the sport. slo-pitch coach Lori Herteis Meanwhile, teams without inexperienced pitchers would either watch their opponents walk around the bases all afternoon or be constantly ducking out of the way of line drives. "If you have no pitching, there's no point in playing," Curtis says. At the same time, hitters without rep experience are like lambs being led to the slaughter when they go up to the plate against high-calibre windmill hurlers. That's why Georgetown coach Lori Herteis made the decision to switch to slo-pitch. "I've seen the kids who don't play rep ball and know they're not going to get a hit," she says. "I had to think about my experience, growing up with fast-pitch and then moving into slo-pitch and loving the game. It's just a better game for the kids. They're going to feel more successful, it's not as intimidating. They'll just have a little more fun." Female athletes have plenty of other options Larose doesn't blame slo-pitch for the gradual demise of high school softball in Halton, however. He points the finger at all the other options students have these days, noting that the Tigers can't even field a slo-pitch team this season because of lack of interest in the school. "Girls now play hockey 12 months a year. And there are a lot of girls playing rugby, which wasn't around forever," Larose says. "I could see one sport suffering, whether it be soccer or girls' softball. It just happens to be girls' softball." Or perhaps high school softball's struggles are just a symptom of the growing malaise of the sport across Ontario, Canada and perhaps even the world. "There's concern across all of softball," says Jennifer Kent, A DYING SPORT?: Former Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers pitcher Kelly Boxer delivers a pitch during the 2010 Halton high school girls' softball championship game. Ridge, which won the regional championship last year, is one of only four teams that will play in this year's softball league. OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO president of the Burlington Amateur Softball Association (BASA) that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this season. "Softball hasn't been as popular (recently) as some of the other sports. We're trying to bring it back." The BASA only offers house league and select programs (though those programs do interlock with Oakville, Milton and Georgetown associations), not rep. Kent says the absence of a rep program is due to both a lack of demand and a shortage of funds, and hopes the association's five-year plan of building select will help bring rep back in the future. The BASA president adds that the fact softball is no longer an Olympic sport has really hurt the game. "Absolutely, it was a tremendous hurt," she says. "There's no one to look up to. It's sad. We have some great pitchers out there. The key is finding the pitchers, to bring the sport back to where it should be." Larose hopes that can happen. "I really enjoyed those days when we had the really good high-level softball. The games were nip and tuck, the girls were firing that ball, the kids had good bats and good skill in the field," he says. "I definitely feel like they're missing out." -- Jon Kuiperij can be followed on Twitter at @Beaversports