Sixteen teenage boys from Yukon are heading to British Columbia this week to compete in the John Cho Cup, a national fastpitch softball tournament, where they’ll represent Yukon’s U18 P&M Recycling Sundogs in Prince George from June 27 to 29.
The Sundogs are part of Softball Yukon’s development program, which aims to grow competitive fastpitch talent and create opportunities for players within the territory. The team includes players aged 15 to 18, many of whom have been playing together for the past three years.
As part of their development, the team has travelled to Saskatoon for the past two summers and competed in the U17 boys’ provincials in Saskatchewan last year. Team manager Michelle King said those experiences helped the players grow and learn from other fastpitch communities.
“It’s actually really challenging to find tournaments for boys’ fastpitch in Western Canada. When I reached out to the organizer of the John Cho Cup to ask what the level of play would be in the U23 division, he got really excited and offered to create a U18 division,” King said.
“They are hosting a U18 Team Canada ID camp the first morning of the tournament, so he figured it would be easy to get some teams together. The tournament has 43 teams total and five in the U18 division.”
The team is coached by Nolan Stonehouse and receives support from assistant coach Nate Thomson. King, who has managed the team for three seasons, also coordinates travel and logistics.
Under their guidance, King said players have trained over the past four to five winters, attended weekly pitching clinics and played exhibition games against a local men’s team to build morale and prepare for the tournament.
“Most of the pitchers and catchers have been taking part in weekly pitching clinics with Softball Yukon over the past four to five winters and have all seen a lot of improvement in their power, speed and accuracy,” King said.
“We’ve really seen a lot of growth in all the players this year. They are starting to think more about positioning, the importance of playing as a team, covering each other in the field and communicating what’s happening,” she said. “They haven’t had a lot of game play as a team, so looking forward to seeing how they put some of these skills together over the course of the tournament.”
While the team is excited, King said they’re also stepping into the unknown. Most of their previous competition has come from Saskatchewan, where boys’ fastpitch is more established. King said the John Cho Cup will show them new teams and playing styles, offering a benchmark for how Yukon’s players stack up nationally.
When they return, King said the Sundogs will continue weekly practices and will aim to play more games against local men’s teams as they prepare for the Discovery Day Fastpitch Tournament in Dawson City this August.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
