The Drumheller U13 Pure Venom softball team played hard at an appearance at provincials and showed a strong competitive spirit.
The U13 Pure Venom was in Leduc for the tournament on the weekend of July 28. Despite having a young team with only three senior players, the team showed resilience and played strong the entire tournament. They had one victory over Delburne.
“We did well. We were in every game, it just happened to be that we came up a little bit short,” said assistant coach Ryan Bitz. “Every game was a good game. We were pretty happy with the effort the girls put in, and it was a good experience for them.”
He adds it was a learning curve for the coaches as well, seeing how serious other teams were at this elite level.
He says he appreciates the team’s competitive spirit. “They competed in every game, they give it all they got. In this sport in one inning, it can all turn around. They are not afraid to hit the ball,” said Bitz. “Their effort was always on par, and that is all a coach can ask for.”
He said the team had to qualify for the tournament and played well to make the cut, beating Okotoks in a three-game series.
“They (Okotoks) are a little bit of an older group, but the girls stuck with it and prevailed,” said Bitz. “They deserved to go, they did a lot of hard work this year to get there.”
With less than a handful of second-year players, who will be heading to the next level, the future looks bright for Pure Venom.
“The first-year group came a long way and a big part of that is head coach Bryce Pears. He sure got the girls in tune with what ball really is, and that helped a lot to get them where they are,” said Bitz.
He also says they had great support from the community, the association and the coaches.
Along with Pears and Bitz, Vanessa Jensen also was an assistant coach. They were also supported by Brooklynn Hartman. Last season she played at Dakota College at Bottineau for the Lady Jacks. She helped the team with their pitching.
