FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17th, 2010

Tom Doucette selected as Junior Men's National Team Head Coach

(Ottawa, ON) Softball Canada is very pleased to announce that Tom Doucette (Middle Musquodoboit, NS) has been chosen as the Head Coach of the Junior Men's National Team. Tom was also the Head Coach of the Junior Men's team during the last cycle from 2005 to 2008, leading Canada to a Silver medal at the ISF VIII Junior Men's World Championship in Whitehorse, Yukon. Tom will handle the Junior Men's National Team Head Coaching duties until the conclusion of the 2012 ISF IX Junior Men's World Championship, which will take place in Argentina. It will mark the first time this particular event will be played in South America.

'I am both honoured by being selected as the Junior Men's National Team Head Coach for the 2012 ISF World Championships in Argentina and extremely excited for the opportunity to lead Canada's top 19-and-under male softball players in such a high performance competitive setting' stated Tom Doucette.

Tom brings a wealth of experience to the Junior Men's National Team program, having served the team in various capacities since 2001. He previously coached Team Nova Scotia at four Canada Games (Boys - 1989, 1993 and 1997; Girls - 2001), as well as several Junior, Intermediate and Senior Men's teams between 1980 and 1992. Tom has also helped Softball Canada on the administrative side of coaching, having served on the Coaching Development Committee since 1997. He was instrumental in directing Softball Canada's transition to the new National Coaching Certification Program format.

'Tom Doucette will be an important addition to our National Team Coaching Staff' said Kevin Quinn, President of Softball Canada. 'Tom has an easygoing personality combined with a never-ending desire to teach young athletes, which is highly effective with our Junior Men's National Team. I look forward to our continued success under Tom's leadership. It is great to have him back at the helm!'

The Junior Men's National Team won a Silver medal at the 2008 ISF Junior Men's World Championship held in Whitehorse, Yukon, narrowly losing 2-1 to Australia in an extra inning in the Gold medal game.

'The next immediate task is to put the rest of the coaching and administrative staff in place for collaborative planning' added Doucette. 'The 2010 softball season will be one of scouting and report gathering and a beginning of networking with the 'at age' coaches. Highlights of the scouting will be the Canadian Midget Championship and the Eastern and Western Bantam 'A' events.'

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For more information, please contact:

Gilles LeBlanc
Manager - Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105
gleblanc@softball.ca