Is softball is being left out in left-field?
Not if a pair of North York leagues have their say
Things just haven't been the same in Toronto for the sport of softball since the glory days of the 1980s, and no one knows that better than Gayle Stormont and Bernie O'Reilly, two tireless proponents of the game.
Forever shadowed by the popular sandlot pastime of baseball, softball is virtually going unnoticed as participation numbers in soccer and non-traditional pursuits continue to increase.
There's a movement afoot, though - at least in North York - to raise softball's profile.
"There's too many kids on computers and playing video games these days," explained Hillcrest Village Softball president Gayle Stormont, noting that interest at the younger grassroots divisions are up this season, a positive indicator for the future, but that all other age brackets are proving more difficult to fill each passing year.
Hillcrest's membership figures tend to fluctuate every year, she said, depending on how the Blue Jays perform.
"When they do good, we're up, when they don't, we're down" said Stormont, who joined the league with her children 35 years ago and never looked back.
There was a time, she recalled, when she would see 65 to 75 teams sign on in the spring.
"Now we're all co-ed because we don't get many girls wanting to play anymore."
A handful of pro-softballers in the city, including the two North Yorkers, is bringing its message into the school systems.
"We're trying to make them aware that we're here, especially in the 11 to 14 year old ages," she said, noting she watched Willowdale, Pleasantview and Don Mills leagues - all leagues that once thrived - fold after struggling to keep alive.
"We're putting up signs here and there, posting notices in schools to see if we can get some high school kids back with us, maybe volunteering as a coach or an umpire."
She hasn't received much response yet from schools, but she acknowledged that her mission is just beginning.
"People just aren't finding anything in their neighbourhoods anymore," she said. "I'm getting phone calls from people living as far as north of Steeles and Scarborough asking where their kids can play... there's just nothing out there for them."
Goulding Park Minor Softball, based out of the Goulding Park Community Centre, has also shown its commitment to the sport and community by donating 10 ball gloves and other equipment earlier this year to a school in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood.
"It's all about getting kids to play and learn about the sport," wrote O'Reilly, the president of the league, in a prepared release. "The majority of school-aged children don't know the first things about the game."
The league, he said, has been forced to tinker with its structure. "Over the past several years we have been forced to merge the two oldest divisions, Bantam and Midget, making the division a five-year spread from youngest to oldest, as well as interlock the new division with Richmond Hill Minor Ball."
The game - which is unlike baseball in that the pitcher pitches underhand or windmill, the ball is considerably bigger and the playing perimeter is smaller - looks like it may survive another season, thanks to Hillcrest Village Softball and Goulding Park Minor Softball.
Both leagues have started their seasons but they won't be turning anyone away.
"I'd really hate to see this thing fold, I really would," said Stormont, referring to her league that has seen more than 10,000 kids play the sport over the years.
For more info on the local leagues, go to www.hillcrestvillagesoftball.com or www.gouldingparkminorsoftball.ca.
