Softball hit it out of the park this weekend as youth leagues hit the diamonds. (Adrian St.Onge/CHAT News)

By Adrian St.Onge

Medicine Hat batters tee up and swing for the fences as youth softball begins

May 12, 2024 | 9:53 PM

Medicine Hat youth softball hit it out of the park this weekend as over 50 games were played in Redcliff and the Big Marble Go Center.

U11 Women’s Thunder coach Alyssa Schimpf said that she played for the Thunder growing up, and now that softball is gaining steam in Medicine Hat, she gets an opportunity to coach her daughter.

“Softball has definitely grown in our community. I grew up playing softball here for these same teams and so it means a lot for me to be able to coach my daughter and coach this team this year,” Schimpf said.

“I feel like the girls are really excited to be able to be done with this weekend and to carry on into other weekends. Continuing to grow and get better. I hope they can continue to grow the game and encourage more girls to come out and play,” she said.

Harlyn Schimpf said that pitching is her favourite part of the game and that she focuses mainly on technique.

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“I just think of letting go of the ball and trying to throw strikes,” Schimpf said.

“I like pitching. I really like it,” she said.

Maci-Rae Wothspoon likes to play catcher and said that others should get into the sport to make new friends.

“Because it’s really fun and everything,” Wothspoon said.

“I don’t really know, it’s really fun and meeting new friends and everything,” she said.

Campbell Kletzel said that the trickiest part for her is when a really good batter is up.

“Well sometimes, if there’s a really good batter, sometimes, she hits really hard or really hard,” Kletzel said.

“It can be hard catching all of them,” she said.

Schimpf said that the score doesn’t matter as much as the effort put into the sport.

“I really want them to learn how to compete. There’s a difference between really wanting to win or hoping to win and showing some competitiveness,” she said.

“I really get them to strive to be competitive and not care about what the score is but to be better every play and to learn. We always get together at the end of every game to talk about something we learned and something we did well.”

“I hope that they can continue to strive to be better. “

While this tournament ended this weekend, Schimpf said that the community can expect to see more softball as they prepare for exhibitions games against Brooks.