A pair of Pan American Games champions will headline the roster of instructors at the 2015 edition of the Beyond the White Lines Softball Camp in Kelowna.
Camp founder and director Joni Frei will be joined at the fourth annual camp by nearly 20 qualified mentors, including pitcher Jocelyn Cater and shortstop Jenn Salling, both of whom were part of Team Canada’s gold medal winning effort in women’s softball last week in Toronto.
“This is the biggest group of coaches we’ve had yet,” said Frei, “we also have the coaches from Auburn and Alabama State, so we’re loaded with great instructors.”
The camp, which runs from Aug. 3 to 8 at King Stadium and the Kelowna Curling Club, will feature the highest enrolment yet of 90 young women from across B.C., as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Frei, a Kelowna native who played and coach university softball in Georgia for 12 years, said camp participants will get the full gamut of instruction, tips and advice over the course of the six-day session.
“The days will all include skills and drills, strategies and concepts, all-star games, competitions…pretty close to 40 hours of softball during the week,” said Frei, who has added a new component to this year’s camp.
“We’re also going to have an umpire from Softball B.C. come in for a segment on rules, and how knowing the rules can make you a better player. We realized that component can be very valuable to players.”
In addition to segment with a sports psychologist, the camp will also feature a session on recruiting, where coaches will discuss what schools are looking for in an athlete and student when evaluating potential talent for their college and university programs.
The camp once again will include a tryout for the Canada Futures team. Each year, Frei takes the best young players in the region—aged 14 to 18—to a college showcase event in the U.S., this fall being held Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 in Georgia and Alabama.
Frei said each year the camp wouldn’t be possible without the assistance and cooperation of many in the community, including Kelowna Curling Club manager Jock Tyre, Kelowna Falcons GM Mark Nonis, Okanagan College coach Geoff White and Kyle Blanleil of the Kelowna Men’s Fastball Association.
With the numbers growing each year—from 65 players in 2012 to 90 today—Frei feels like the camp is having a genuine impact on female players in Western Canada.
“We have players who have been at our camp in the past, have gone off to play in college and now they come back and work at our camps,” said Frei. “A lot of them are former players of mine, so that’s pretty cool to see.”
For more information on the Beyond the White Lines Softball Camp or the Canada Futures program, visit www.beyondthewhitelines.ca.
