Shannon Galea this time found a group of girls that she could work with, motivated to master the difficult technique of pitching and determined to succeed.
On October 15, 2012, Shannon Galea, a softball pitcher native of Oshawa, Canada, who plays for the Den Bosch Gryphons in the Dutch Hoofdklasse Softball League, offered to conduct a practice session in Gozo for the young Redcoats while she was visiting relatives in Malta. This session came two days after the Ghajnsielem Redcoats’ all-girls team had lost 3-13 in Marsa at the hands of the Mustangs in the MABS Youth Softball League. During that session, Shannon tried her best to give the girls an idea of what fastpitch softball is all about. Before she left Shannon promised to continue to help and to return soon.
Seventeen months later, Shannon Galea kept her promise and came back specifically to help our softball pitchers. Ironically, Shannon arrived yesterday, two days after the Redcoats had travelled to Marsa, this time with two teams made up of thirteen girls and five boys, to play two games against the same Mustangs. This time the outcome was much different. The senior Redcoats won 14-11 whereas the junior Redcoats lost narrowly 11-12 in the MABS Youths Baseball Major League.
The hard work that the girls and boys have put in since the inception of the club is evident. They are playing against more experienced players and winning their fair share of games. Half way through the baseball season the senior team is unbeaten sitting comfortably in first place as well. Shannon this time found a group of girls that she could work with, motivated to master the difficult technique of pitching and determined to succeed.
On Tuesday late afternoon at the Gozo Stadium Shannon worked with a group of 12 girls which also included potential pitchers and catchers. She went over the basic techniques of pitching with the entire group. During the session held this morning at the Sannat ground, Ms Galea worked with the advanced pitchers and did wonders in improving their mechanics.
The entire group then went for lunch at the Moby Dick restaurant, in Xlendi, owned by Peter and Heidi Bonnici, parents of Kirsty and Jasmine. At the Moby Dick the group enjoyed a great pizza while soaking up the great view of the beach and the adjacent cliffs. The surprise of the afternoon was the cake that Alicia Said made. Alicia was one of the outstanding players during the Softball Fastpitch Championship Series played in December and January where she excelled as a catcher for Redcoats 63rd. The cake was decorated with the softball diamond along with bats and balls on each side. Everyone was left speechless at the sight of this wonderfully decorated cake. It also tasted great. Alicia showed how much artistic talent she has along with the ability to bake.
In the afternoon Shannon did various infield drills for the entire group and finished up with further pitching to ensure that the girls have mastered the adjustments that they worked on in the morning. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for everyone involved and a successful one as the aims set out were achieved. Shannon is working very hard to convince fellow pitching coaches as well as teammates to make periodic visits to Gozo to continue to work with our players. Efforts will be made to get someone to come in July and September to provide more training.
Shannon later posted the following on Twitter and Facbook:
“Spent 4 days in my 2nd motherland, Malta with these amazing, young and inspiring athletes. Never seeing a high level softball/baseball game except from YouTube videos and one dedicated father who brought the game to life for these kids from Canada, there are no words to describe the power of sport. I am left with no other feelings of gratefulness from their hard work they put into learning from all that I could offer. I am deeply humbled by their efforts, talent development and the yummy cake by Alicia (12 y/o), who made and spent 10 hours making for our time together- even checkered inside WoW! There is no greater reward than instilling the importance of sport and sharing what I have been fortunate to experience in my secondary/university/international athletic career. Hats off to these young ladies who are driven to learn and visualize a concept that is difficult for many to grasp, where no foundation is provided due to cultural/economical circumstances, and merely rooted by their spirit. This goes for ANY country I have lived/travelled to and learned about the flaws in various sporting systems, where’s the equality in development? It’s simply the absence of instilling this spirit in our youth and using ALL sports as a tool to educate. I only hope that ANY athlete in ANY SPORT dedicates their time giving back, you will be left surprised with what will shape the future of their hopes and dreams. Thanks again for this experience and the awesome hat/jersey, I can only promise that other coaches will make the effort to reach out to you all very soon!” #WoodymeetsMalta #PowerofSport #Redcoats #internationaldevelopment
The next appointment for our pitchers is this coming Sunday when the two softball teams of our club take on each other with Redcoats 63rd hosting Redcoats 31st in the seventh and final game of the Championship series at the Sannat Ground starting at 10am. Giulia Lateo will start for Redcoats 63rd, while Kacey Grima will start for Redcoats 31st.
