A northern Manitoba softball coach is up for a provincial honour.
David Muswaggon of Cross Lake is one of three finalists for the Vince Leah Memorial Award, one of Coaching Manitoba’s 2015 Impact Awards.
Muswaggon’s Pimicikamak Thunder team won the under-16 boys’ Western Canadian Softball Championship in August.
The Thunder, an all-Aboriginal team with 13 players from Cross Lake, went 6-0 at the championship tournament, held on Vancouver Island.
Collectively, the Thunder outscored their opponents 52-18 over six games.
“The boys have demonstrated the ability to play at an elite level of ball,” said coach Muswaggon in a press release following his team’s triumph last summer. “The championship will only elevate their confidence and expose them to the world of their abilities and skill levels.”
The Pimicikamak Thunder elite softball program was established in Cross Lake in 2012 with a goal of reuniting Pimicikamak people, promoting health and wellness, and preserving the game of fast-pitch softball, which has been played in the Pimicikamak territory for decades.
One of six awards presented by Coaching Manitoba to recognize and celebrate outstanding coaches in the province, the Vince Leah Memorial Award is presented to a coach who epitomizes coaching fundamentals.
