SCHOOL SPORT CANADA• SPORT SCOLAIRE CANADA

SSNL 2024 Boys Slo-Pitch Championships

October 20, 2024 by  
Filed under Provincial and Territorial News

SSNL 2024 Boys Slo-Pitch Championship

 GoldSilverBronze
AABishop White All Grade SchoolFrench Shore AcademyFogo Island Central Academy
AAAWhite Hills AcademyTempleton Academy
AAAAAJ M Olds CollegiateMount Pearl Senior High
Bishop White All Grade School
White Hills Academy
J M Olds Collegiate

SSNL 2024 Boys Slo-Pitch Individual Sportsmanship Awards

2ASportsmanship
Baltimore HighJackson Boland
Belanger Memorial 
Bishop White All Grade SchoolBilly Kane
Dorset CollegiateMaddox Winsor
Fogo Island Central AcademyMichael Holmes
French Shore AcademyLance Aylward
Leo Burke Academy 
St Lawrence Academy 
Sportsmanship Team AwardBishop White All Grade School
Tournament MVPJackson Penney, Bishop White
  
3ASportsmanship
Botwood Collegiate 
Glovertown Academy 
Indian River High School 
Mobile Central High 
Templeton AcademyJordan Blanchard
White Hills Academy 
Sportsmanship Team Award 
Tournament MVP 
  
4ASportsmanship
Ascension CollegiateGavin Oates
Carbonear CollegiateEric King
Clarenville High School 
Corner Brook Regional High 
Holy Trinity High 
J M Olds Collegiate Blake Coooper
Marystown Central High 
Mount Pearl Senior High 
Sportsmanship Team Award 
Tournament MVP 

‘I was proud of the team’: Twillingate’s J.M. Olds Collegiate overcame the odds, and bigger schools, to win the province’s top softball crown

The school of 60 students recently won the first AAAA banner in its history

Nick Mercer · Multimedia Journalist

The J.M. Olds Collegiate Tigers in Twillingate won the SSNL AAAA Boys Softball provincial championship in Carbonear earlier month. To do that, they had to knock off schools with sometimes double their school population. Contributed photo

TWILLINGATE, N.L. — The J.M. Olds Collegiate boys softball team entered the School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador (SSNL) AAAA Boys Softball provincial championships in Carbonear as the underdog. 

Not only was it the first time the school of 60 students was playing at the highest level, they were going up against schools that may as well have been giants. 

They were met on the fields in Carbonear, schools like Mount Pearl Senior High, Ascension Collegiate in Bay Roberts, Corner Brook Regional High, Marystown Collegiate and the two-time defending champion Clarenville High. 

With that kind of competition in front of them, you could call the Tigers David to their Goliath. 

J.M. Olds slew the giants on the way to an undefeated tournament and the AAA provincial championship, which included a 13-12 win against Mount Pearl in the final and knocking off Clarenville High in the semifinals. 

“There was no feeling to describe it,” said coach Mitchell Watkins.

“Really, it’s just above your expectations, and some that you’re never supposed to be able to do, that you can just accomplish, and everybody always tells you can’t do it, but you defeat the odds.” 

Getting there 

The Tigers’ march toward the provincial AAAA championship began two years ago when they won the AA championship. 

A year later, they fell in the final of the SSNL AAA boys softball championship. That stage was set for another leap in competition. 

Still, they didn’t make that decision right away. 

Coach Jody Cooper, a fine softball player in his own right, knew his team could compete with any team defensively, but questioned if his players were strong enough at the plate to compete. 

“Defensively, they’ve always been excellent. We can keep up with anybody,” said Jody. 

That question was answered over the summer when the core parts of the team participated in the provincial udner-18 slo-pitch tournament. 

After their performance against teams they saw at the AAAA tournament, Jody knew his charges could compete. 

“It was a good gage to see if we beat them there for us to jump for AAAA,” he said. 

Proud of the team 

The accomplishment isn’t lost on the players, especially those who got to finish their high school softball career on the game’s biggest stage. 

As a Level 3 student at J.M. Old Collegiate, Jase Oster won’t be a part of the team next year, but he’s looking forward to being able to watch them compete. 

“I was proud of the team,” said Oster of the win. 

Blake Cooper was the Tigers’ tournament MVP. Not only did he get the chance to win at the top level, but he got to share it with his father, Jody. 

Like Oster, he felt the win proved that softball in Twillingate is in a good spot. 

“We’ve been playing for a long time, and to finally win a big tournament is good,” said Blake. 

School history 

A couple of weeks later, the AAAA championship banner is now hanging in the rafters of J.M. Olds Collegiate as a sign of when their small team toppled the large ones. 

It represents how far the school and the town’s softball development has come, which at one time saw teams with not enough gloves to go around. 

It’s also a piece of school history and something Watkins figures everyone involved with this team will never forget. 

“That’s something that is going to live and die in this building until they literally take the rafters down,” he said. “That banner is going to be raised in our gym and forevermore. 

“You’re going to be a walk in that gym and know that a small school 60 came over every single school in the province, and they are the best team.” 

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