The Unity-Kindersley Royals certainly made a name for themselves back in the day. Established as a junior team back in 2012, the UK Royals made multiple runs to the Western Canadian Championship, and are now looking to return to their former glory.
A new page called "UK Royals Ladies Fastball" was started back on March 31. Jessica Woit shared the following details about the program looking to rebuild after six years off the diamond.
"We are a ladies fastball team based out of Unity and will include players from the surrounding area." began the post. "We look to build a team that will last for many years to come, so that girls graduating from local minor ball teams will have an opportunity to continue playing the sport that they love!"
Joining Woit behind the Royals revival is Dacey Francis. Being a "ladies" team, even the coaches will have the ability to suit up and get back playing the game they love.
Dacey Francis (bottom right) is one of the former players helping revive the program for the upcoming seasonWestCentralOnline reached out to the former Kindersley resident, and current Unity resident Francis to talk about the day. The Royals roots go way back, as Francis gave some background surrounding the history of the team.
"Randy Ervine, JoAnn McAdam, and Don Robertson had created the team back in 2012. They combined Kindersley and Unity players for a U21 team, just due to the lack of junior teams in the area." recalled Francis. "It's been six years since we last put a team together, mostly because girls had either moved away, or didn't have time to fully commit to a competitive team."
Broaching the topic of the team potentially coming back, Francis talked about what was almost immediate interest.
"Starting it up again as a ladies team. We thought Kindersley, Unity, and the surrounding areas are always strong ball communities with great talent, and great community support. We wanted to give the ladies the option to continue playing locally after graduating from the minor ball program." said Francis. "We are hoping that this takes off again, and continues to develop for years to come. Just to keep ladies fastball close to home."
Speaking of immediate interest, Francis might already be envisioning herself in the starting nine. Coming in as a player/coach, Francis shared everyone who's helping bring the Royals back to the diamond in 2024.
"This year for our coaching staff we've got Brent Weber, and (Woit), who joined the program the same time as me. Brent was the coach and Jessica played." shared the eager competitor. "I will be helping them coach as well, but I will be playing...definitely one of the older ones, but I'm excited to get back into it."
A few people in this picture will be trying to restore the program to it's former gloryWhile expectations are nice, the new era Royals will have to work hard to match the accomplishments of their predecessors.
"I actually looked into it," began Francis, recalling the UK Royals winning ways since the beginning. "The team has won gold at provincials in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Then also won gold at Westerns in 2012, 2015, and 2017. It's exciting to get back into it with some younger talent, and hopefully we can continue that success with this new group."
The Royals managed to win Westerns three times between 2012-2018Francis and company have already been gauging interest for the team. They already have a good crop of talent in mind as Francis shared more details about joining the team.
"We have had a lot of interest, so we do basically have a full roster, but we would never turn somebody away if they were interested. If they are looking to get involved in any capacity, even just wanting to follow along with our season, they can head to our Facebook page, or they can contact (us) directly with any questions."
It's no surprise the team is light on details not even a month into the restart, but Francis did give a glimpse of what their schedule could look like.
"We are planning a couple of tournaments, about as far as Regina (is where we would travel). Typically try to schedule a few exhibition games, doubleheaders, that kind of thing all throughout the summer. And then provincials is in the middle of July, and that is in Saskatoon."
Francis hopes the team being based out of Unity doesn't scare away any potential players from trying out. They must envision the whole region being a possible talent pool for the team, or why else would they speaking with WestCentralOnline?
"We like to stay involved with other communities as well. There's not as many Kindersley players involved at this point, but if they are interested they should definitely reach out to me." said Francis. "We (also) do things like put on ball camps for minor teams. If anyone would be interested in that as well, they can reach out to me." said Francis
Ladies fastball is back in west-central. Keep your eyes peeled for the Royals in 2024.
Tue, Apr 30, 7:00 PM
