Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Defending champion comes with its share of perks for the Napanee U20 Express men-though its not without its challenges either.
Chief among those benefits is the fact Napanee rolls into Cobourg for eliminations July 5-7 knowing their spot in the 2024 Canadians are already reserved. They’ll enter the Aug. 20-25 national tournament in Carp, On-near Ottawa-as the ‘defending champion’ team, having locked up the Canadian title last summer on home turf.
That doesn’t mean they intend to coast this summer either. Reigning champions means teams across the country will be gunning for them, all bringing their ‘A’ game as they look to dethrone the current title holder.
Napanee is a relatively young U20 team with just two majors (born in 2004), with eight players born in 2005 and two in ’06, most of which returning from last year.
They kicked off the year with an early bird tournament here in Napanee in May, followed by a trip across the border to Croghan, NY.
They’ll continue to gear up for eliminations with league play, taking on fellow Express and area teams weekly at the Fairgrounds or throughout the region. Following eliminations, they have the Carp Shootout July 19-21 and provincials Aug. 9-11.
-In other Softball Napanee news, Softball Canada announced that Bryan Brooks has been named as a pool coach with the Men’s National Team. The Napanee native joins a group of four pool coaches who will support the Men’s National Team coaching staff by stepping in to cover for assistant coaches if they are unable to attend any camps/competitions, and to help with scouting, identification camps, selection camps and training camps as required.