Just how often is it you actually hear Maori songs coming from the opposing dugout at Optimist Park?
“That was just awesome,” Ice catcher Makenna Simmons said shortly after the first contest of the doubleheader Saturday. “I just love their accents and their cheers, they’re such a fun team to play.”
That kind of experience was the whole idea for the two games as the barnstorming Kiwis made the trip down from Melfort to face the Ice in the rarest of international match-ups between two under-14 teams in the province.
And while the scores might not have been close – Moose Jaw took 15-0 and 14-2 wins in cool, rainy, blustery, sunny and warm conditions throughout the day – the chance to simply play the games was a bonus in itself as well as a learning experience for both squads.
“It’s partly about these girls improving, they should be playing a little bit better and coming over here has shown these girls the work they still have to do,” said ISA manager Craig Waterhouse. “That’s a really strong team over there… We were (in Saskatchewan) last year, so we knew these were going to be good teams. We were still expecting to do a little better than this game.”
Seeing the bats come alive so well after struggling at times at the recent provincial championships was a welcome sight for Ice coach Darren Newberry.
“I think it went really well, our girls had been off for a couple of weeks but they came to the ballpark ready to play and came out and played really well,” he said as players from the two teams congregated on the diamond between games and belted out a sing-song chant together. “It’s nice to see what’s going on over there right now with them visiting the other team and getting along with them. It’s a great experience for our girls and their girls too.”
That opinion was carried by ISA infielder Jayah Lee, who was impressed with what she saw from her team’s counterparts on the other side of the diamond.
“It’s fun, I love being over here, New Zealand was getting a little bit boring,” she said with a laugh. “It’s really different, the competition is a lot more laid back back home where here’s it’s a lot more intense, they play really well.”
Simmons felt much the same way.
“It’s so exciting to see an international team coming to Canada and even Moose Jaw, we don’t get a lot of opportunities like that in our club or even western Canada,” she said. “So it was great to have an experience like this against their team.”
Getting to know their opponents even though they hail from 14,000 kilometres away was all part of the day, Simmons added.
“We’re still playing ball, and to us ball is all about having fun and getting involved with the other team, especially when a team has come this far. We get a chance to learn a bit about their culture and they get a chance to learn about us.”
The visit came out of what has become an annual tradition for ISA visiting Canada with a train of barnstorming teams. The program has been in existence back in New Zealand for the last 13 years, and it was in year two that Softball Canada first came calling, inviting the Kiwis to an under-19 men’s tournament in Prince Edward Island.
“And as we developed and expanded our program to more age groups, Saskatoon Softball was kind enough to invite us here and that’s how it’s sort of developed,” Waterhouse explained. “We have a team in Europe next month, we had an under-19 team here three weeks ago, a under-14 boys team here last week… it’s all about giving the players new experiences and more chances for expanded coaching. But sometimes you find out there’s a bit of a gap between where you are and teams like we played today and we’ll work to try and close that gap in the future.”
The New Zealanders have toured all over Saskatchewan, including a two-game stop in Saskatoon, along a contest in Shellbrook and the aforementioned game in Melfort. ISA also spent a night in Prince Albert but didn’t take the field against their powerhouse programs.
“It’s been fantastic,” Waterhouse said. “Everyone has been welcoming, so it’s been a good trip.”
The culture aspect is a big part of the whole thing – ISA visited a First Nations park outside of Saskatoon during their stay there, while their U14 boys team had a chance to take in a powwow during their visit to Saskatchewan earlier this year.
That was all fine and well. Something else was exciting for the girls, though…
“Shopping!” Lee said, drawing a laugh from nearby teammates. “We got to go to Walmart, that was pretty neat, we don’t have that back home… there was a lot of cool things we got to see and do, it’s been a fun trip.”
Whether or not ISA will return next year is up in the air, but Newberry was impressed with how things came together in such short order when it came to hosting the games.
“It was great that (assistant coach) Paul (Litzenberger) was able to organize this, so kudos to him and kudos to all our parents for helping make this happen,” he said. “They did a lot of work to make sure this turned out as well as it did, we’re so fortunate to have such a great group of parents who always put in so much volunteer time and work to make things like this come together.”
Camryn Rusu was named the Forged Academy Player of the Game for Game 1, Simmons took the honour for Game 2.
New Zealand is now off to the United States for a quick one-game stop before heading home next Saturday.
