It was an incredible tournament for the U13 AA Central Charge Purple squad, and after a hard fought, emotional bronze medal game, the group came home with a medal, as well as many memories.
"As far as provincials went, we knew going in when we saw our draw, we had a very, very tough pool," coach Stephen Ross explains. "We had a sense like any team could come off our side and make a run. So basically, we had to work really, really hard just to get out of the pool stage. So we were happy with that. When it came to championship Sunday, we had a really, really good showing against a tough team that had our number all year long. We battled, but just couldn't get them again, and so we came out for the bronze medal game. Unfortunately, we had to face the Charge White team, two really, really good teams going at it. Somebody has to win, and we had their number on Sunday."
A big takeaway for the coach was just how far this group has come throughout the year. "Going into provincials, you have to fill out the forms with all the birth dates, and I didn't realize until then just how young of a team we have," Ross says with a laugh. "Looking back at our season, we had a lot of close games. The girls in those close games showed a lot of maturity and composure given how young they are. That was really remarkable noticing that going into provincials and reflecting back over the season."
For Ross, an area where he believes the team showed the most improvement stands out quite a bit. "Overall, all season long, we had great pitching. As a coach, we ended up with a whole bunch of pitchers that we could put in at any time. That made things very easy on the pitching side. Defensively, we were very, very solid. We would give teams fits, they'd think they had loaded bases and they'd score a bunch of runs, but the next thing you know, we're in the dugout and they didn't get anything. Lots of high pressure stuff like that would happen, but we'd find a way to get through the inning. That's really good on the girls for being able to battle through those situations."
On the diamond results are great, but the real highlight for Ross was the bonds formed as friends between the team. "There was excellent chemistry all season long. All the girls got along almost from minute one of day one. They all learned and grew together. It was pretty remarkable to see. I'm getting used to how much girls at this age can learn, and I'm constantly surprised by how this group continued to grow and grow and grow, so much faster than you'd think. They're so much smarter when it comes to the game."
Facing tough competition at provincials, Ross says he heard right away the group understanding what they need to do to hit that next level as a team going forward. "My daughter played on this team, so it's my second year involved in the program, first year coaching, but the thing that stands out was just how much the girls work. Even the parents, they work hard, too. There's a lot of work that goes into the program, it's a whole effort to get these girls where they are."
Looking down the road into the future, Ross couldn't be more excited for where these athletes are now and how they're going to lead the program going forward. "It's inspiring to see them grow the way they have, get through the situations they've gotten through. It's very important to have these programs, because these girls, many from the White and Purple team are going to makeup the Energy team next year. They've put out a good name for themselves, growing and looking to make up a strong Energy team in the U13 level. They are in a good position."
The future of the programs, as well as the future for these athletes are very bright.