Baseball and softball season kicked off on Sept 7. Both teams have a lot of work ahead of them as the season gets going, so let’s check in with both teams to see how they’re feeling as this year gets going.

Baseball

Baseball season has officially begun for the Fanshawe Falcons and the birds are ready to bring the energy back after a tough ending to last season.

“Things didn’t end up going our way at the OCAA Championships, but the guys won and lost as a team the whole season,” said retired Falcons pitcher, Jon Rozzel, while reminiscing on last season. 

The team saw a slow start last season but “kept hope and ended up winning seven in a row,” according to Rozzel.

Unfortunately the streak was put out and the team did not advance in the OCAAs.

Despite last season's struggles, the birds are approaching this season with high anticipation.

“I'm feeling great about the team,” shared Falcons catcher Marcus Normandin. “The group of guys we have this year are all great people and great players.”

Most teams training starts in the off-season, and for the Falcons that included a lot of pitcher-focused work.

“Last season we were short on pitchers but this year it’s the opposite,” Normandin said. “We spent a lot of time working with pitchers and finding a way to get ahead of the batter to give our guys the best opportunity to make a play.”

A study from Northwestern University revealed that shared success among teammates actually improves the chances of future wins. Bonding and chemistry is a strength in any team sport, a strength the Falcons hope to apply this season.

“The idea right now is to get more team bonding time outside of practices and games so everyone becomes more comfortable and confident around each other,” Normandin shared.

Another valuable part to team sports is strong team leaders, and Normandin feels the Falcons are set with this year's leaders.

“We have three great leaders on our team that are going to do their best to try and get everybody going, even in the worst situations,” Normandin added.

The birds faced a double header for their season opener where they battled it out against the Lambton Hawks, but fell short, losing both games. Nonetheless, the Falcons remain excited about the season.

“There are plenty of games ahead so we as a team are not worried at all, the game is based on mistakes and unfortunately there were just too many,” Normandin said. 

Feeling confident in their off-season work, and in each other as a team, the Falcons are ready to take flight this season and land with a big win.

Softball

The Fanshawe softball team battled it out in their season opener on Sept. 7. Through off-and-on rain, they concluded opening day with a 1-1 record.

With the start of the semester happening and the season just starting to get underway, it can be challenging to get into the competitive mindset to play at that OCAA level. Tryouts began Aug. 15, and in order to prepare players for the season, coaches had to double those tryouts as workouts. With this, Head Coach Catherine Arthur said the senior players have been super helpful.

“We have great seniors that really help us get everybody in line so we know what we’re doing,” Arthur said.

On top of the quick start to the season and getting players into the correct mindset, team dynamics is another important focus. From one day tryouts ending playing their first exhibition game the very next day, the team shifted from acquaintances to teammates in a matter of hours. Such limited time to grow team chemistry can be difficult, but Arthur is committed to making it happen.

“We try and do it really fast. We start with a doubleheader against Western as an exhibition game, this is where we start to build our culture. We also like to do family dinners on Friday nights to just hang out and get to know everybody,” she said.

Some of the girls have been together for a while now, but there’s always room for growth and with the addition of a few rookies, they did just that. New teammates can make or break the team dynamics, but Arthur said they’re doing just fine.

“We have a couple of rookies that are actually starting which can be difficult, but they’re fitting right in.”