Coach of the U15 AA Westman Storm, Dave Danners, couldn't be prouder of his group for what they did throughout the entire season, capping it off with a silver medal at provincials.
"I have a lot of good things to say about this team," Danners says with a laugh and a smile. "I guess we'll start with that they are such a positive group. Their heads are in the game, every game. They support each other like I've never seen. That would be the number one, their attitude, their focus on the game, and how they support one another no matter what happens."
That closeness, that bond, it was all apparent right from the start, according to Danners. "It stood out from day one. It stood out from tryouts to our very last game. They all didn't know each other at the start. Sure, some knew each other, but you wouldn't know that if you just looked at that team from the outside."
Seeing the skill develop as well as the friendships was special for Danners and the coaches. "Their a very intense group, they want to learn. The few mistakes they did make, whether it was at practice on on the diamond during a game, they learned from it. It was something we focused on with them right from the start, they're going to make mistakes, but don't get down, don't worry about it, as long as you learn from your mistakes, it makes you a better player and person. That was one thing that happened, they learned every step of the way. They were focused on their own development and learning, and you could tell some of the girls were even doing stuff on their own, away from our practices or games. They would come to a game or practice better than they were the last time we saw them."
As a team, Danners pointed out a couple of areas where he saw real growth and development from the start of the year to the end. "I think our defense, it was our best area. We did have some low scoring games, we did have close games where our defense really kept us in the game. In the beginning of the year, especially when the girls didn't know each other, they were not sure how each other played, or what their strengths were, I think our defense really stood out."
Provincials provided an opportunity to be special, something Danners believes the team did. "It was a great experience, even though it was very similar to our showcase tournament at the beginning of the year, provincials are a different feel, a different attitude. Good games, because all the teams got better as the year went on, which they should. We got better, we fine tuned our skills, and other teams did, too. So, say if we lost or beat a team at the beginning of the season, we knew it would be different games for provincials. We had some weather issues on the final day, which throws a wrench into everything, kind of slows the flow of the game, a little bit. But, whatever, the girls took it in stride. It was a very good experience. Some of the days feel pretty long, but that's how it goes."
When it was all said and done, the team came together and embraced having claimed a silver medal, an opportunity Danners says was special for many reasons. "Even though we didn't get the result we had hoped for, we did make it to the final day, to the gold medal game. It was a close game, one we ended up losing 4-2, and a 4-2 game in softball could have gone either way. An inning here or there, or a batter here or there, it could go either way. A few of them were a little sad they didn't get the gold, but I think they were more sad because they may not play together again next year, or ever, depending on what they do in the future. Through it all, they were still positive, still happy. Nobody got down at the end of the game or during the game, it was great to see, they're such a great group of girls."
Danners can't thank the people around the team enough for helping make this year as special as it was. "I told the girls after the game, the way they act makes it easy to coach. Myself, Tyler Sheils, and Kelly Cornock, we can focus on the game and practices, because the girls attitude makes it so easy to coach. I don't have to worry, and I told the parents about that, I told them the way they support the team, support coaching decisions, support their daughters and other players, it makes it a great experience. The support from fans was amazing, there were a lot of people, some we knew that didn't have anything to do with the team, they just came to watch the games. They heard these games were good, and they came out, and there were some people that were there the whole weekend, just watching all the games. The love the AA programs and they helped make it such a great experience for everyone."
The U15 AA Westman Storm may not be the same team next year, but anyone on the team from this year will carry many fun moments, memories, and skills going forward.