september2013

Black Sox coach to scope South Island talent

September 29, 2013

Christchurch, NZ

 

ORIGINAL STORY By Tony Smith


Black Sox softball coach Mark Sorenson will attend the South Island Jefferies Cup tournament in Christchurch this season to scope talent for the team's world championship title defence.

Canterbury Softball chief executive Cheryl Kemp said Sorenson and his Christchurch-based assistant Carl Franklin would be present for the tournament at Mainland Foundation Ballpark on December 7 and 8.

"We're delighted that the South Island players are going to get that exposure to the Black Sox coaches. It's been quite some time since we've had a Black Sox head coach at the tournament. Now, we're going from a famine to a feast with Carl [Franklin] based here."

Sorenson will hold a Black Sox presentation on the Saturday evening of the tournament which would be open to all players, coaches and softball supporters, Kemp said. He would share the Black Sox's vision as they build up for the 2015 world championships in Canada without four senior members of the squad that delivered a record sixth world title in Auckland last March.

Kemp confirmed five women's teams and four men's clubs would again contest the Canterbury premier grades which start on October 5. The Spring Shootout pre-season tournament will be held this year with Nelson club Stoke Eagles bolstering the field with men's and women's teams.

A midweek men's Fastpitch competition will be held before Christmas "as opposed to after". The Canterbury under-19 boys team will play in the competition after the premier club coaches agreed to release their players to the representative team.

Kemp said it would give Canterbury under-19 coach Carl McIlroy time to properly prepare his team for their national tournament in January.

Mainland Softball, which represents all South Island associations, will introduce an under-17 boys Mainland Shield tournament to be held in conjunction with the Jefferies Cup men's and Jubilee Cup women's series.

Meanwhile, Greg Newton (Canterbury Red Sox) and Carl Tuinenga (Canterbury Red Hawks) have been retained as head coaches of the province's premier representative teams for a third successive season.

But Kemp said long-serving Red Sox manager Jayden Moore had stood down after helping mould the squad that won two national titles in three seasons.

"Jayden says, and rightly so, it's time for family and his role as chairman of the CSA [Canterbury Softball Association] is an important position. We can only but accept those sentiments with some sadness, but it's certainly understandable."

Kemp was confident softball playing numbers would rise in 2013-14.

"All the indications are that we will have growth in both juniors and seniors. Rolleston look like they've got another eight teams. They'll be up to 18 or 19 teams which is phenomenal because they've gone from zero to 19 in two years, and Kaiapoi have also increased their senior numbers."

 

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