Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog

A blog dedicated to news about the Greater Ottawa Fastball League and other happenings in the world of fastball / fastpitch softball in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with occasional stories featuring Mrs Fitzroy Fastball, Fitzroy Fastball Junior and the Caveman. If you have info to send on, send me an email at fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com. Follow @fitzroyfastball on Twitter.

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Caveman road rage

Numbers are looking decent for West Carleton Minor Softball so far. Our formal registration sessions are done, but if you know a kid that would like to play minor softball, let me know at fastball@fitzroyharbour.com and I'll get them on a team.

In other news, the Caveman was on the road with Grandma recently when another car cut in front of Grandma's van. The following conversation was reported by Grandma, who also thinks / knows that Caveman is a nut.

Grandma: "Oh would you look at that dummy!" as the car cuts her off.

Caveman: "You can do better than that, Grandma."

Grandma: "What do you mean?"

Caveman: "You can come up with a better word than 'dummy'."

Grandma: "Oh OK.....um...what a jerk."

Caveman: "C'mon you can do better."

Grandma: :  "OK, what an a__hole!"

Caveman: "That's better, Grandma. Good job."

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Thursday, March 21, 2013

REMINDER: OASA Springboard Clinic in West Carleton April 27

West Carleton Minor Softball and the Ontario Amateur Softball Association are pleased to present:
"Fastball Springboard"Come out and learn how to improve your softball skills! Master Pitching Instructor and Team Canada Coaches will teach you how to pitch, catch, hit and field!
For male and female athletes aged 8 – 12 and 13 – 18
Minor Team Coaches will learn about skills, drills, practice organization and strategy.

Saturday April 27, 2013
Stonecrest Elementary School,
3791 Stonecrest Road, Woodlawn

$ 10.00 fee includes T-Shirt
Visit www.oasa.ca for registration information.

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GOFL announcement

Some interesting news should be coming for the Greater Ottawa Fastball League for the 2013 season shortly. Keep checking the blog for an upcoming announcement.

In other news, it's been confirmed - the Caveman will be playing the lead role in Stonecrest Elementary School's grade two production of "Louis La Grenouille" (Louis the Frog). He is very excited for this opportunity to act. In fact this morning he asked if he could have flies for breakfast to get into character.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

OASA Masters

2013 OASA Masters Championship : Cambridge Ontario
Please be advised that the dates for the O.A.S.A. Masters A and B Provincial Championships have officially been changed.
 
The tournament was originally scheduled for July 12-14, the new dates are July 19-21.
The tournament location has not changed, it will still be held in Cambridge Ontario.
I would like to thank the host chairman Brian Hood for his co-operation, in moving the tournament one week later.
Hopefully more teams will be able to enter this great tournament due to moving the tournament one week later.
 
For further information please contact tournament director Mike Goodridge at 289 389 9158
Thank you,
Mike Goodridge

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An offer from Pugger

The following is from Shawn "Pugger" Williams, friend of fastball in our area.

Dear Members of the Fastball Community:


Get Ahead of the Game…..NOW!
Get Your Very Own Priority Registration Number (PRN)
For CFL Football and Ottawa Fury FC NOW!

As many of you know, in 2014 the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group (OSEG) is returning a Canadian Football League (CFL) franchise to Ottawa and entering a new franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), Ottawa Fury FC.

This is a very exciting time for the sports landscape in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.

In the near future, OSEG will launch a Priority Registration Number (PRN) Campaign to encourage fans of both sports to secure a place in line to order tickets.

As a person in my network, I am able to offer you the opportunity to get in line now before the broader public campaign begins in a few weeks. In addition, if you know friends that may not be in my network but interested in CFL Football or the Ottawa Fury FC of the NASL, forward this information to them and I will be pleased to assist them in obtaining their own PRN. Your network becomes an extension of my network as a way to assist your friends, family and business associates.

For a modest non-refundable $25 per seat commitment, OSEG will issue you a PRN that will allow you in the coming months to purchase seats for either or both sports.

• Is your business looking to reward your best clients? Get your PRN now for an opportunity to purchase Club Seats with access to an amazing state of the art exclusive Club Lounge area on the South Side.

• Longing for fall football? Get several friends together each with their own PRN and cheer on the new CFL football team as it returns our city to the glory days of Ottawa’s football history.

• Get supporters together and be able to sit as a group to sing Ottawa Fury FC on to victory!

• Own a restaurant? Purchase multiple seats in different sections for either or both teams and be able to offer your loyal clients some of the best seats in the new stadium.

Contact Shawn at for your PRN Form. You will then be assigned a PRN for the CFL Team, the Ottawa Fury FC or both.

Don’t wait until the broader public campaign begins. This allows you to get in NOW! Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Let’s Go Ottawa!

Shawn Williams
Manager, Partnerships
Ottawa 67’s Hockey Club
C: 613.302.5019 / P: 613.232.6767, Ext. 258
shawn@ottawa67s.com

Please note our new address!

700 Industrial Avenue, Suite 220
Ottawa ON
K1G 0Y9

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Monday, March 11, 2013

KJ at Furman University

Kyle Jamieson of the Stittsville 56ers has a new head coaching gig at Furman University, a Division I school in Greenville, SC.  Kyle has been coaching women's softball in the NCAA since 2000 and this is his first shot at a head coaching job.

Good luck to KJ. The season has already started down there. An alert blog reader sent this interview with the Paladins new coach prior to their home opener last week against Kennesaw State from Georgia.

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New Zealand wins at the Worlds

New Zealand are ISF Men's World Champions - they defeated Venezuela 4-1 in the final. Al's Fastball has the story.

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Saturday, March 09, 2013

New Zealand in the final at ISFs

New Zealand is in the final, awaiting the winner of Australia and Venezuela at the ISF Men's Worlds in Auckland. Jeremy Manley helped get them there.

Canada lost to Argentina and were eliminated.

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Williamsburg 10th Annual Tournament

from Lyle Schell

10th Annual "Caset at Bat" Fastball Tournament, we have had a great run over the previous nine years.

May 24,25,26. 2013

$375.00 entry
1st place- 1200
2nd place- 700
3rd place- 300

Prize money is based on 10 teams.

No restriction on players, unlimited defense.

Chicken BBQ Saturday, followed by a live band Saturday evening.

Refreshment gardens open ALL weekend.

Cheques made payable to:
Williamsburg Fastball
4303 Pinkus Dr
PO box 122
Williamsburg On
K0C 2H0

Lyle Schell
613-219-5367
613-535-9949

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Friday, March 08, 2013

ISF Worlds field narrows to six

There are now six teams left in the ISF Men's World Tournament in New Zealand after yesterday's games. (Samoa and the USA were eliminated from the playoff round.)

I watched the live stream of Australia - New Zealand double life playoff game last night. It started at 11:30pm EST and ended at 3:00am. What an incredible game - the Kiwis won 5-4 with a walk off single in the bottom of the 10th. This game had it all. It started with the "Haka" by home team in front of a crowd of 3,5000. Then the game followed with incredible pitching, clutch hitting, speed, defense, an intentionally hit batter, a near brawl, a charged catcher and a walk off single. Thanks to @Funky26 for convincing me to pay the $5US to watch it. The stream was a TV feed from New Zealand "Sky Sports" that was very high quality and had NZ legend Mark Sorenson doing colour commentary. (The Black Sox were "we" for most of the game to Sorenson.)

I missed the Canada - Venezuela game since I did need some sleep. The Canadians got two-hit and lost 3-1 to the Venezuelan team, so Canada has a do or die game tonight against Argentina at 8pm EST.

Here is the schedule for tonight (which is Saturday in New Zealand):

Today's Schedule, Day 9 with (Local Time) and time in Canada EST

C5 W-C1 Japan vs L-C3 Australia (11:30am) – 5:30pm
C6 W-C2 Argentina vs L-C4 Canada (2:00pm) – 8:00pm
C7 W-C3 New Zealand vs W-C4 Venezuela (5:00pm) – 11:00pm
C8 W-C5 vs W-C6 (7:30pm) – 1:30am

For more information on the tournament, and to learn how to sign up for the live streaming, visit Al's Fastball.

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Thursday, March 07, 2013

Caveman recovery and other news

Recovery

Well, the Caveman has almost completely recovered from his broken arm. It's been a long 10 weeks of recovery, with two different casts followed by a custom splint.

Last week, we went for a check up. After the x-ray, the doctor said that he didn't have to wear the splint all day, but he did need to put it back on for a couple of weeks during gym class or other activities where there was a risk he could fall. Now, the Caveman has been away from hockey since Christmas and he misses it desparately. His novice (U8) team has a tournament this weekend - I asked if it was at all possible if Caveman could play. "No, it wouldn't be a good idea to play hockey that soon."

NOT the answer the Caveman was looking for at this time. His face got very red, and tears started slowly to drip out the corners of his eyes. The young doctor felt bad, gave him a pat on the head and said "Sorry, but it's for the best."

He kept his rage bottled up until we left the examination room. Then, he could hold it no longer as we walked out to the parking lot.

"Stupid doctor, what does he know. I never fall at hockey, I'm not like the other kids, I'm good, I can stay on my feet, I won't hurt my arm, just let me play Daddy, we don't have to tell that dumb doctor, can I just play in the tournament Daddy!?"

Clearly, I shouldn't have mentioned the tournament to him. Oh well, he's over it now and looking forward to softball season.

New curse word

It may not surprise you that the Caveman has invented a new 'curse' word. Recently, he was playing ministicks hockey with his brother (using his left hand, as his right hand was in a cast) and Fitzroy Junior cheered after what he thought was a goal. Caveman, unconvinced said "That's bullshoes, no goal!"  We not sure if he misheard the actual word in the past, or if he just decided this version would be better as it wouldn't get him in trouble. In any event, "bullshoes" is the newest profanity in our house. Try saying it the next time you want to curse but don't want to offend anyone.

Birthday beverage

Caveman celebrated a birthday last month; he has now spent 8 years entertaining us. For his special day, he wanted to go out for supper, for his favourite restaurant meal, chicken 'muggets'.

Before we went, he asked if he could order a special drink. He's doesn't get to have soft drinks at home, so we were thinking maybe he wanted a Sprite or something similar. But no.....he wondered "Could I get a .5 beer at the restaurant?" Uh no, sorry, we don't need the Children's Aid making a house call. "But it's not REAL beer, Daddy, why not?"  I am figuring his high school years may be problematic.

Amazing discovery

The other morning, Caveman got out of bed late once again. He shambles into the bathroom - and I hear "Wow, this is cool!".  Turns out that the Caveman had figured out that he didn't have to completely lower his underwear down to his knees to have a pee. He discovered that there is a opening in the front of his underpants to allow 'access'.  "Did you know about this, Daddy?"  Mrs Fastball claims I am a failure as a father because I never taught him that.

Hockey season

While the Caveman has been sidelined, Fitzroy Junior has been playing hockey (or as my US American friends sometimes refer to it, "soccer on skates") with his atom (U10) team.  They have had a very good season, including a tournament win in Barry's Bay - a town which is not the end of the world, but you can see it from there.

Fitzroy Junior has been working hard, practicing on the outdoor rink and really seeing some success on the ice. This year, he's scored 20+ goals in league, tournament, and playoff play - a far cry from three years ago when he led the league in "almost goals".

His team is in the division final vs their arch rivals from Carleton Place. Hopefully he will take home the crown, then ease right into softball season full of confidence!

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Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Canada finishes first in their pool at ISF Worlds UPDATED with link

Team Canada finished pool play at the ISF Men's Worlds in New Zealand with a 7-0 win in five innings over the Netherlands.

Their first place finish has them facing off against Venezuela at 2am EST tomorrow Friday morning.

UPDATED: Here is the game story from Softball Canada.

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Canada mercies Colombia

Team Canada won 8-0 in five innings over Colombia at the ISF Men's Worlds in New Zealand in Day 6 action. Sean Cleary, who made an appearance in 2011 at the Gil Read Memorial Tournament in Carp with I4C Victory, was perfect facing the minimum 15 batters.

As per the Softball Canada site: "Team Canada (5-1) will play its last round robin game against the Netherlands (1-4) at 10:00pm EST Wednesday night on Diamond 2, and would clinch first place in Pool B with a win."

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Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Japan beats Canada at ISF Worlds

Japan defeated Canada 4-1 in Day 5 of the ISF Men's Worlds in New Zealand. Canada was held to only two hits, both by Mathieu Roy, who also drew two walks.

Next up in Day 6 action is Colombia (3-2) vs Canada (4-1) at 10pm EST. 

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Monday, March 04, 2013

6th Annual Gil Read Memorial Tournament


The 6th Annual Gil Read Memorial Men’s Fastpitch tournament will be held once again at the Carp Fair Grounds in Carp, Ontario the weekend of July 26th, 27th and 28th, 2013.

The first 12 teams will be accepted with entry fee set at $450. This is an Open class tournament without restriction.

Prize money will be handed out as follows (Based on a 12 team format):
1st Place $1,800.00
2nd Place $700.00
3rd place tie - $250 each

Last year’s winners were the Toronto Gators.

Fantastic beer garden with the best burgers around, all in support of the Gil Read Memorial Foundation. www.gilreadmemorial.com.

Contact Info
Al Read
aread@solowaywright.com
wk 613-782-3204
hm 613-435-3199

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Canada 4-0 at ISF Men's Worlds

Team Canada pulled off a big win at Day 4 of the ISF Men's Worlds, defeating the host New Zealand team 9-7 in 8 innings to go to 4-0 win/loss record.

Today, Canada plays Japan, with Kyle Smith doing the Twitter "play by play" at 11pm Eastern tonight.

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Glen Cairn League looking for two pitchers

from T-Mac

The GCMFL which was established in 1971 and is one of Ottawa's longest running sports league is in need of two starting pitchers. We are looking to the greater Ottawa fastball community or beyond to try and find two pitchers for Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League. Also if interested of course we are always looking for new position players and sign up can be done online at http://www.gcmfl.pointstreaksites.com.

So if you are a starting pitcher and can commit for the 2013 season we look forward to hearing from you.

Please contact us at executive@gcmfl.com or Tony Macdonald by email at macton17@hotmail.com

Thank you
GCMFL Executive

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Friday, March 01, 2013

Jeremy Manley at the ISF Worlds

Jeremy Manley, the New Zealand 30-year old ace, is throwing for the Kiwis at the ISF Worlds. Attendees at the Elkland Labour Day tournament will be familiar with the hard throwing Manley for his performances at the ESA ballpark. Here is a story on Manley from Al's Fastball.

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Team Canada wins first game at ISF Worlds

Team Canada won their first game at the ISF Men's Worlds in New Zealand with a nine inning 2-1 win over Argentina. Mathieu Roy, familiar to local fans as a member of the Donnacona Blue Sox / Team Quebec scored the winning run.

Al's Fastball has the round up.

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Softball Canada Launches New Triple Play Website

TORONTO, ON- Softball Canada along with the Player Development Working Group is pleased to announce the launch of its new Triple Play website, targeting softball players aged 10 to 18 years old. The website can be accessed by visiting www.tripleplaysoftball.ca.


'Our Triple Play Program is now a reality and its excellent website is now launched' said Softball Canada President Kevin Quinn. 'This website is a very exciting tool which has sections for players, coaches and parents. This will eventually provide young athletes the opportunity to see how they match up against other athletes across Canada and will provide some very useful information for coaches and parents as well. Congratulations to Mary Cahill and her hard-working committee for an excellent job on this program and the website.'

The Triple Play website aims to engage athletes in the Learning to Train, Training to Train and Training to Compete stages of Softball Canada's Long Term Player Development model, as well as their coaches and parents. The website contains information for each of these three user groups and softball fans in general. Players can read softball stories, access performance tips, play games and enter contests. Another major feature for players is the Profile and Rewards Program, which allows players to collect online reward badges and build an online softball resume.

Coaches will have access to Softball Canada's new Skills Improvement Program. They will also be able to recognize their player's achievements throughout the season with the Triple Play Rewards program. The coaching section will offer resources including weekly drills and dynamic warm ups.

The website also offers articles for softball parents.

For more information about the Triple Play program, please contact:
Mary Cahill
Manager - Domestic Programs
Softball Canada
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3107
mcahill@softball.ca

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