Press Release

Monday, April 15th, 2013

Softball NL 2012 Award Winners

Softball Newfoundland Labrador held its Annual General Meeting & Election of Officers on Saturday, April 13th, 2013 at Holy Cross Elementary School in St. John’s.

The following 2012 Softball NL Awards were presented at the AGM: Umpire of the Year, Coach of the Year, Minor Female Player of the Year, Minor Male Player of the Year and the Bob Whelan Memorial Award.

Softball Newfoundland Labrador would like to Congratulate all of the 2012 Award Winners.

 2012 Umpire of the Year: John Sullivan (St. John’s, NL)

  • Acted as Deputy Umpire-in-Chief of Softball Newfoundland Labrador in 2012.
  • This past season, he took care of helping schedule umpires for all of the Provincial Tournaments and was responsible for the finances of each tournament and made sure that all umpires were looked after.
  • Excelled as an umpire throughout the 2012 season, mostly in the Senior and Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch Leagues, where he umpired approximately 80-games.
  • In 2012, he umpired at seven (7) Provincial Tournaments including: Senior Men’s, Midget Boy’s, Midget Girl’s, Bantam Girls, Pee-Wee Girls and Squirt Girls and one Eastern Canadian Tournament.
  • Volunteered at the Constable William Moss Memorial Softball Tournament when his work schedule permitted.
  • Volunteered at the NL Summer Games in Carbonear when time permitted.
  • Most importantly, this umpire was always there to offer guidance to any fellow umpire that needed his help.

2012 Coach of the Year: John Hill (St. John’s)

  • Coached 3Cheers Pub Bud Light in the Molson St. John’s Senior Men’s Fastpitch League and NL2 3Cheers Pub Bud Light at the Canadian Senior Men’s Fastpitch Championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
  • Put together a competitive team on the local scene and a dominating team at the Canadian Senior Men’s Fastpitch Championships.
  • 3Cheers Pub Bud Light were the Molson St. John’s Senior Men’s Fastpitch League Regular Season Champions thanks to a 16-8 Record and finished 3rd Place in the League Playoffs.
  • 3Cheers Pub Bud Light went 3-2 and finished in 2nd Place in the Molson St. John’s Day Tournament.
  • At the Molson Senior Men’s Fastpitch Provincials, 3Cheers Pub Bud Light went 2-3 and finished in 3rd Place.
  • Coached the NL2 3Cheers Pub Bud Light team to a dominating performance at the Canadian Senior Men’s Fastpitch Championship. NL2 3Cheers Pub Bud Light went 6-0 in the Round Robin, 3-0 in the Playoffs and 9-0 Overall to capture the first Gold Medal for the province at the Canadian Senior Men’s Fastpitch Championships!
  • Overall Coaching Record in 2012: 32 Wins, 16 Losses (.667 Winning Percentage).

2012 Coach of the Year: Jeff Kirk (Goulds)

  • Continues to be one the driving forces behind coaching development in the Province of Newfoundland Labrador.
  • Has served in various roles over the years including Master Learning Facilitator, Softball NL Chair of the Coaching Development & Learn to Play Co-ordinator.
  • Is a member of the current Softball NL Coaching Committee, is in charge of the Skills Development Program during the off season, has been a member of the Softball Canada Coaching Committee and was a contributor to Softball Canada U12 & U14 Coaches Guides.
  • In 2012, he was the Head Coach of the Kelly’s Pub Junior Canadians U21 Junior Men’s Fastpitch Team that participated in the Molson St. John’s Senior Men’s Fastpitch League and represented the province at the Canadian U21 Men’s Fastpitch Championship in Owen Sound, Ontario.
  • When Softball Canada dropped the junior age from 23U to U21, the team was faced with a situation in which they lost all of the players that were 22 and 23 years of age. This did not deter the head coach, assistant coach and team management from moving forward and putting the best possible team together for the Junior Nationals.
  • His ability to get the best out of his player was evident at the Canadian U21 Men’s Fastpitch Championships. The Kelly’s Pub Junior Canadians went 6-2 in the Round Robin and 3-0 in the Playoffs to capture another Canadian U21 Men’s Fastpitch Championship for the province of Newfoundland Labrador.
  • Spends his winters offering off-season training for his team and any player that is interested in improving their game.
  • Whether it’s training indoors, training outdoors, providing regular evaluations and feedback, being a strong role model for his players or an advocate for fastpitch, one thing is certain and that is his heart is always in the right place.

2012 Minor Female Player of the Year: Sami Kennedy (Holyrood, NL)

  • Member of the following teams in 2012: the NL Selects that participated in St. John’s Ladies Fastpitch League, the Montreal International Challenge, the Softball NL Senior Women’s Provincial & the U21 Women’s Canadian Fastpitch Championship, the Conception Bay Central U18 Girl’s team that participated in the Softball NL Pepsi U18 Girl’s Provincial and the Diamonds that participated in the St. John’s Ladies Fastpitch League.
  • Helped the NL Selects go undefeated to win the Championship of the season opening tournament for the St. John’s Ladies Fastpitch League.
  • Was instrumental in helping the NL Selects finish 8th out of 20 teams at the Montreal International Fastpitch Challenge. Overall Pitching Stats: 3 Wins, 2 Losses, 11 Strikeouts and 1 Shutout. Overall Batting Stats: 6-for-18 .333 Batting Average, 1 Run Scored, 1 Stolen Base and 3 Walks.
  • Her best performance came in the Softball NL Senior Women’s Provincial in Corner Brook where she helped the NL Selects go undefeated on their way to the Provincial Crown. Overall Pitching Stats: 2 Wins, 0 Losses, 10.2 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Walk, 15 Strikeouts, 0.00 Earned Run Average and 2 Shutouts. She combined with Amy Corbett for a No-Hitter against Monarchs in the final game of the Round Robin and she then followed up with a complete game 2-Hitter in the Championship Game. Overall Batting Stats: 5-for-11 .455 Batting Average, 3 Runs Scored, 2 Doubles, 1 Stolen Base and 5 Runs Batted In. 
  • Represented the province at the U21 Women’s Canadian Championship in Truro, Nova Scotia, the first time Newfoundland Labrador had been represented at this event since 1993.
  • Led her Conception Bay Central U18 Girl’s team to a Gold Medal at the Softball NL Pepsi U18 Midget Girl’s Fastpitch Provincial. Was named the Tournament Top Batter and Tournament Most Valuable Player.
  • Capped off the 2012 season by helping Diamonds capture the championship of the St. John’s Ladies Fastpitch League. Was named Playoff Most Valuable Player.

2012 Minor Male Player of the Year: Brandon Pomroy (St. John’s)

  • Member of the following teams in 2012: Waterford Valley Midget Boy’s Fastpitch Team, the NL Selects U18 Midget Boy’s Fastpitch Team and the Game on Gear Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch Team.
  • Led his Waterford Valley Midget Boy’s Fastpitch Team to a 2nd Place finish at the 2012 Provincial Midget Boy’s Fastpitch Tournament. He hit over .300 and played stellar defensively.
  • Had a breakout performance at the 2012 Canadian U18 Midget Boy’s Fastpitch Championship. He helped his team to an Overall Record of 4-6. His team captured the Consolation Playoff Championship with an 8-4 win over Nelson VICS (NB). He finished the tournament with a .407 Batting Average (11-for-27), scored six runs, hit four doubles, walked once and collected two RBI. He was named to the Tournament All-Star Team (Outfield).
  • With Game-on-Gear and NL Midget Selects in the Molson St. John’s Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch League, he finished the season with a .224 Batting Average (13-58), scored eight runs, hit two triples, two home runs, stole one base, walked seven times and collected nine RBI.
  • He was a finalist for the Molson St. John’s Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch League Rookie of the Year Award.

2012 Bob Whelan Memorial Award: Paul Smith Jr. (Upper Gullies)

  • This individual is involved in many facets of Softball, both on and off the field.
  • An appointed member of the Softball NL Board of Director’s whose role is primarily the Coaching liaison with the Board in his capacity as a member of the Coaching Committee and as an organizer and instructor of the NCCP Program.
  • In 2012, he was the Board’s Softball Co-ordinator for the NL Summer Games.
  • He is the coach of the Ladies Canada Games Team and in 2012 coached the first NL Ladies team to play at the U21 Nationals since 1993.
  • Guided his Ladies team at the Montreal International Softball Challenge where his team placed eighth (8th) out of twenty (20) teams from all over North America.
  • Was instrumental in re-establishing the St. John’s Ladies Fastpitch League, a league that offers girls of all ages the opportunity to actively participate in competitive fastpitch.
  • For the last few years he has organized a Girl’s Junior High School Fastpitch Tournament that has proved very successful.
  • As a coach, he runs practices and clinics year round and regularly involves skilled players from our National teams to assist with some of the finer points of the game.
  • His practices are not limited to his team players, as any player who shows interest is invited along for development.
  • An organized individual, who time after time clearly demonstrates his dedication to the betterment of the game.