The gold medal winning 16U Saskatchewan softball team. (submitted)

By Logan Lehmann

NAIG

Local coach reflects on experience, gold medal at NAIG

Jul 26, 2023 | 2:00 PM

A Prince Albert softball coach is coming home from the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) with a new medal to add to his trophy case.

Brock Perry was the bench boss for Saskatchewan’s 16U softball team at the games where he and his team claimed gold. Perry took some time to chat with paNOW about his experience at the games where he said the week was unlike anything he’s been a part of before.

“I could not have asked for a better week of competitive ball, going undefeated and my athletes came together and got close like a family,” he said.

“The experience of being a first time coach at such a large competition was like none other and I was keeping myself in the moment and enjoying every second it had to offer. I’ve played in many different places all around North America and in some of the biggest tournaments in the softball world, but coaching these young men this week is hard to put into words.”

Perry (far right) shows off his gold medal with the other Prince Albert locals from his NAIG team: (l to r) assistant coach Jullian Bird, Cody Caron, Deitrich Taubhorn, Kaleb McDougall, and Kamden Shewchuk. (submitted)

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Saskatchewan dominated round robin play at the games, finishing at a perfect 4-0 while outscoring their opponents 46-11. In the semifinals, they squared off with British Columbia and made quick work of them, winning 7-0 to advance to the gold medal game.

However, under unique circumstances, the game was cancelled due to bad weather and both Saskatchewan and Manitoba split duties as gold medal winners.

“It was a bummer that Mother Nature got in the way of experiencing that final out for gold, but it was out of our control and we accepted it,” Perry said.

“Myself, assistant coach Jullian [Bird], along with the boys knew we were the true gold medalists being the only undefeated team with the stats to back it up and beating Manitoba already. [Sharing] our gold was not agreed upon but at the end of the day it was not our decision to make and we knew ourselves, and some players from Manitoba expressed that they feel like they never deserved gold.”

Perry and Saskatchewan faced Manitoba in their final round robin matchup where they won 10-6. A full overview of how the team did can be found by clicking here.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @lloganlehmann