It was an incredible run for Team Manitoba, led by Dwight Heppner, as the team finished 5th at the Canada Summer Games, which were held in St. John's, Newfoundland.
East coast vibes
"We spent about 10 days on the east coast," explains Heppner. "We lived in the athlete village, basically playing every day. There were a couple days that the kids were off, they could go and do touristy stuff with their parents. There was always something to do in athletes village between games, the kids got to go see some of the other games that were going on. Mainly, we were focused on our games in the pool play, and the bracket games."
Breaking down the results
"At the end of the day, we finished 5th," Heppner says proudly. "Round robin wise, we were 3-2. We had a really good chance at being 4-1. We lost 2-0 to New Brunswick in a game, where to be honest, had we lost even 2-1, we'd have finished second in our pool, but we lost 2-0, which was kind of an upset, putting us, New Brunswick and Quebec tied with a 3-2 record after pool play. The way the rules for tiebreakers were written up, New Brunswick made their way into second place, we were third, and Quebec was fourth, which meant we came up against Alberta. They have one of top pitchers in Canada, and things didn't go our way that game. It would have put us in a better spot, for sure, had we finished second instead of third. But, we went up against Quebec in the 5 vs 6 game, and we won, so we finished 5th overall in Canada. We're proud of where we finished, but we think as a whole, there were some opportunities out there that we missed, and we could have finished better at that tournament. We're proud and excited for what we were able to accomplish."
Truly a team
It's been a long process getting to the tournament for the group, and Heppner says a big takeaway is how close this group became. "I'm super proud of all of them. Although we had a year and a half together, these girls were not together full time, because of all the club stuff that they have to do. They have a lot on the go, but they bonded super well. Canada Cup was huge, and you could feel the group coming together. They were all so close. They were right there to compete for a medal. What they understood more and more as the tournament went on, was that they belonged there, that they could compete with any team at that tournament. That speaks volumes for a province our size. We have 100 kids show up for these tryouts, and a province like Ontario has probably 500. Alberta and BC would be similar. We finished in a pretty good spot. We're proud of what we accomplished. It's easy to get distracted at a Canada Summer Games, from the opening ceremonies, all that's going on at athletes village, to not being at a hotel with your parents, you're in the village and staying with teammates, but they handled everything so awesome. They were all very mature about the situation, understood what we were there to do, and they took care of themselves. It was an amazing experience, and I know the kids really enjoyed it, and they they had the experience of a lifetime."
What it means for Manitoba
After a strong result, Heppner says this was a very important step forward for the province, and he's looking at the next wave of talent that will carry the province going forward, and he's very excited. "A lot of ball coaches in Manitoba have been talking about this for a long time. You don't have to look very far, just see the U15 nationals that were hosted in Winkler, we had the Central team finish second overall, they lost in the final at the national level. The Eastman Wildcats finished in the fourth spot, so close to a medal. The Interlake team finished top 6, that's three from Manitoba with there being 20 teams there. All of them in that age group, their the next ones in four years that will be attempting to make this team. They had sisters that played on this team, kids from their towns playing, so they know what it takes. They've seen what Team Manitoba was able to accomplish this year, the dedication and commitment that it takes. I think Softball Manitoba, Manitoba overall, we're becoming stronger, we're making more noise at the national levels at every age group. The U13 Westerns, Eastman was second, and Interlake was first, so our Manitoba teams are placing well across the country. That should turn into, four years from now, seeing what this team was able to accomplish and understanding what they can do at the national level, it should spearhead something that looks to be something strong for four years down the road."
What needs to be done now
Heppner says that the positive steps across the ages are encouraging, but now is the time to really focus, and start working toward that step of being dominant on the national stage. "I would say that starting to prepare that age group now, already. Getting some development camps, getting them ready for that four years down the road. Not to make a team of any sort, but get some identification camps, development, it's crucial. I think we need to be a little more serious about that in Manitoba, so I'm hoping those are the next steps. Every association looking at tournaments that have elite competition levels, doing that sort of thing. I know we're doing that more now, which is really good. We can't control the weather, we only have so many months where we can get out and play, and yes, that's a problem, but we can put in more development time over the winter, hitting the gym and batting cages. I really hope that becomes a big thing in Manitoba, like it has in other provinces, I think we'll be better for it across the province."
Fond forever memories
After coming home and reflecting, Heppner says there's a lot of great things he and the team will remember from their time at the Canada Summer Games. "Looking back, it just flew by, but the pride you feel when you're able to coach Team Manitoba, when you're able to be a part of Team Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games, it's not just one team, it's the entire province cheering you on. We had fans that would come from other teams that would be cheering us on. The game against Quebec was one of the loudest that I've been a part of, it was amazing, and with all the fans, the girls really fed off that. It's something that we might never experience again, that first time of being out there, knowing that you have a group of girls that worked so hard, that prepared, that were ready, it's just a super proud moment. I loved being a part of it, I really enjoyed being around the athletes, I appreciate being a part of their lives and experiences. I can't say enough about how great that team was to work with, and if I could do it all over again, I would do it. I love having the ability to be a part of it, it was super special. The family time out there, the support from so many people, it was a great, great experience."