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Terrace softball team scores provincial honour

U-17 squad named team of the year by Softball BC
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Terrace’s reputation for producing quality fastball teams, players and coaches continues with the Terrace Minor Softball Association’s 2022 U-17 team being named team of the year by the provincial Softball BC association.

It comes on the strength of four consecutive provincial championship wins by a core group of players as they advanced through the age rankings to U-17 status this year.

But what makes this award stand out is that it is won by a team primarily made up of boys (the team has one girl) in a sport that’s dominated by girls teams, particularly in the late teen years.

“It’s just very hard to get recognized as a boys team outside of the Lower Mainland,” said Jordie Edmonds, the president of the Terrace Minor Softball Association.

Speaking separately, this year’s U-17 coach, Ryan Praticante, had praise for the players as well as for all of those contributing to the local softball association.

“This is a special group,” said Praticante who has watched the players develop over the years.

He said the U-17 team award also represents the combined efforts of the players as well as their families, coaches and other components of the softball association.

“Everyone plays their part,” he said.

At 24 years of age, Praticante has years of coaching experience behind him, including provincial championship and BC Summer Games gold medals, already and at 19, this year’s assistant U-17 coach, Will Edmonds, represents a new generation guiding younger players.

“He’s much quieter than I am,” said Praticante of Edmonds when both are on the bench. “When he talks, people listen.”

“Sometimes he’ll say ‘why don’t we try this’ and I’ll say ‘you know, you’re right’.”

As one sign of the association’s move to develop coaches as well as players, of 15 people taking a Level I coaching course this September, five were under 20 years of age. A Level II course takes place in February.

While the U-17 team award concludes a successful season of several age-category provincial wins on the part of local teams and a gold medal at the B.C. Summer Games held in Prince George this summer, it also sets the stage for next year.

Association president Jordie Edmonds said it has plans to send U-13, U-15 and U-17 teams to provincial championship tournaments, a U15 to western championships and a U17 team to national championships.

U17 is the oldest age category within the local softball community but Edmonds said plans are also being made to have a U21 team representing B.C. at national championships.

“It would be a B.C. team with a nucleus from Terrace,” he said.