Prysm Gooding has been passionate about softball since she was a child—and now, she’s hoping to pass on that passion to the next generation of players.
The Estevan pitcher is hosting a softball pitching clinic on May 4 and May 11 at the Jody Waloshin Pleasantdale Ball Diamonds to help young athletes improve their skills before the season starts.
“I’ve been going to pitching camps since I was eight years old, and I think it’s really good to hear from other pitchers’ perspectives,” said Gooding. After strengthening her skills, she is excited to pass on the knowledge.
The clinic will include two sessions: one from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. for ages 7 to 11, and a second from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. for ages 12 to 16. Each session will accommodate up to ten athletes, and the cost is $10 per participant.
“We’re going to work a lot on power and a lot of movement,” said Gooding. “With being a pitcher, it all comes more from your hips than it does from your arm. I believe in using your power from your hips to pitch.”
She added that the younger group will focus more on mechanics, such as arm positioning, while older players will work more on developing strength and power. The sessions will be run in small groups, but Gooding plans to provide some one-on-one instruction during the clinic.
“If there are more people interested, I’m going to make more time slots,” she said.
Participants must bring a catcher with them. “That’s my biggest thing. You have to have a catcher—and it can be a teammate,” she said. “I’ll have one, and then everyone else can have one, and I’ll have a couple extra in case someone can’t.”
Gooding has been playing softball since she was a young child. “My family was all ball players, so I kind of got to play around with different positions,” she said. “I knew right from the beginning. I went to a pitching clinic with Andrea Wolfe—she’s a really good pitcher—and I was like, ‘Oh, I want to be just like her one day.’”
That mentorship stuck with her. “She’s kind of helped me through every year. This past winter, I was just in a camp in Whitewood with her, and it’s just amazing how much I learn from her every year,” she said.
Though she won’t be playing locally this season, Gooding is continuing her competitive career with the U19 Riot in Regina, as Estevan does not currently have a U19A or B team. She’s also an umpire and will be heading to Canadian championships this year.
“I just love the people and the relationships you build with your coaches,” she said. “It gets way better when you’re older and you just build with the people you’ve played with for so many years.”
She added that playing in provincial tournaments, like the ones Estevan hosted last year, are exciting experiences for players. “You want to bring those things to a smaller community—we need it,” she said. “When I was in U12, we won our first provincials and it was amazing. I want little children to experience what I got to experience when I was a child.”
To register for the clinic, she said to reach out via text at 306-421-3574.