“The Anchorvale Field of SoftballMania Dreams” — U Sports organises slow-pitch softball event

Contributed by Janet Ng

Anchorvale Fields, June 12 and 13, 2010 — The erratic weather may have played hot and cold over the weekend, but that did not once hamper the spirits of our softball enthusiasts. On 12th and 13th June, U Sports made it their mission to convert the Anchorvale Fields into their own version of the ‘Field of Dreams’ with the U Sports’ inaugural slow-pitch event, SoftballMania.

Guided by no other “Voice” than the urge to simply create more opportunities to play, SoftballMania was purposefully designed to be a slow-pitch event for all — young and old, novice and veteran, recreational and competitive, and yes, even friend and foe.

10 co-ed teams were part of this two-day slugfest of hits and runs, the more familiar faces being teams from the NTU and NUS Halls, as well as the experienced team ‘LZB’, which consists of seasoned softball players and highly-regarded softball coach Mr. Jerry Ng, 63, also a NTUC U Live Member.

Playing advisor and player to the LZB team, Mr Ng showed no signs of slowing down for a man his age, fiercely announcing that he plays to win.

Exclaiming half-jokingly: “I did not travel all the way here to lose! Some players may be here to play for fun, but I take this seriously and yes, we play to win. Whether we win or not is another matter, but we must take this seriously.”

It might not be hard to believe the fire in this man’s belly, especially if you know that Jerry had represented Singapore in international competitions in his early days. He has since groomed many winners and national players under his tutelage.

While waiting for LZB’s final match against the ‘Headhunters’, he speaks passionately of the game, insisting that softball is a thinking game, all about strategy; or as he likes to put it, softball is “not like football, no need to think, just kick ball around”.

Perhaps Mr. Mark Teh, 35, a player with the ‘U Sports Diamond Warriors’, will beg to differ. Mark, who first picked up softball some 20 years ago, declares proudly that football is his first love. So what is a football guy doing playing slow-pitch?

“I just wanted to pick up softball again, have another sport to play. I started to play softball when I was in Primary Six. But as there was no team in my secondary school, I never did pick it up again, until last year. That was when my company was contacted by his union, SISEU to participate in carnivals. Since then, whenever we receive invitations to play softball tournaments, we try to participate, because not many people actually play softball. So, this has been a great tournament for us.”

For the benefit of those not in the know, slow-pitch softball have rules that are slightly different from fast-pitch softball. Ms Janet Ng, Manager for NTUC Club explains that slow-pitch is easier to pick up for beginners and those who have laid off for quite a while, thus allowing the game to be played by more people at entry level.

As the ball is pitched slowly to the batter, there is also more action to the games ––more hits, runs, throws and catches. This makes it easier for those not regular to the sport to pick it up. To support development of this sport, U Sports organizes coaching clinics and games for those who are keen to learn the game.

“I hope that SoftballMania will grow and provide more regular opportunities for those who might otherwise not get a chance to play,” says Janet, also a softball enthusiast, with reference to the varsity hall teams and other recreational company teams in the community. She added that more teams have enquired wanting participate after the closing date and they will have to wait for the next event to come.

The tournament also hit a home run with the NUS Hall team ‘Eagles’, and NTU Halls 15, 11 and 14. They play softball competitively only once a year during their inter-hall games.

Ms Sarah Tham, a NTU student, only picked up the sport when she started university. When asked if there is any rivalry between the hall teams here, she shares that it’s all about enjoying the mania that is softball.

“We did not really train for this. We are competitive only at the inter-hall games. So today, we just want to enjoy the matches, have more game exposure and support one another.“ says the final year NTU student.

SoftballMania scored high in good spirits and competitive fun. Just before the finals between ‘LZB’ and ‘Headhunters’, the only other thing that got some players frenzied and running faster than they would to the next base was a mad sprint to the road in a bid to prevent their vehicles from being handed parking summons by the parking warden.

Yet, in that momentary madness, not even the authority could dampen their mood, for everyone returned to the field of play itching for their next manic hit and run. The final match between Headhunters and LZB was, as Jerry predicted, “a very close fight”. In the end, it was the ‘Headhunters’ who emerged victorious for this year’s U Sports SoftballMania.

This was simply a prized opportunity for all the players involved; indulging in friendly competition with the softball fraternity. Mark summed the spirit of the event well when he enthused: “Well, we are all still here, in spite of the weather, because we are still supporting our friends. And, we get to watch all these good hits, and right there – did you see that? A really good catch.”

Congratulations to everyone who made SoftballMania a really good catch!

Special thanks to Sengkang West CSC and Singapore Baseball & Softball Association for providing all the support we need.

Final Results
Champions: HeadHunters?
1st Runners-up: LZB?
2nd Runners-up: Eagles?
3rd Runners-up: U Sports Team 2

Other Participating Teams :-
U Sports Diamond Warriors, NTU Hall 11 Devils, NTU Hall 14, NTU Hall 15, Nexus Weekenders, Mixers

Novelty Awards:
MVP (Male) – Trumer (HeadHunters)
MVP (Female) – Dana (HeadHunters)
Best Fielder (Male) – Qi Sheng (U Sports Team 2)
Best Fielder (Female) – Desiree Koh (LZB)
Best Batter (Male) – Zhi Yuan  (Eagles)
Best Batter (Female) – Irene Lee (LZB)