Women’s baseball is growing, and nowhere more so than at Pakenham.
The Pakenham Pumas Baseball Club began in 2000, which makes them one of the younger clubs in Victoria. So to have women playing baseball in strong numbers is a fantastic effort, especially from club president Gregg Clutterbuck who was passionate about getting more players into the sport.
The club’s women’s teams started competing in summer 2019/20 and played the first Winter competition in 2019. Obviously Covid then put a stop to everything, but in such a short time the Pumas have already grown from one to two teams.
The women’s teams are a mix of some experienced players and a lot of beginners. At Pakenham the club pride itself on being a welcoming family club where all levels of ability are welcome.
Emily Williams began in Summer 20/21 and is full of praise for the Pakenham Pumas.
“Being a beginner at the Pumas and baseball in general, I originally saw myself as a newbie,” she said.
“Everyone at the Pumas is encouraging and treats you equally. My first season down, I now belong to the Pumas family now.”
Sammie Featherby only began training a few weeks ago and is completely new to the sport.
“Honestly, I had no previous experience in baseball, not softball or even T-Ball. With a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter who occupies most of my time I don’t have much me time so when I saw the come and try post on Facebook I thought ‘well why not’,” she said.
When asked if she is happy she joined she replied, “Absolutely! I’m so glad I came, I was immediately welcomed by all the ladies and have been lent a pair of boots until I have time to go get my own. They are all a fantastic team and really make me feel wanted there.”
The coach for this winter season is Craig Willis, or ‘Willo’ as he affectionately known, an experienced coach who is really looking forward to the women’s season.
“Coaching started for me when I was playing soccer and cricket as a kid,” he said.
“My father was always involved as a team manager or team taxi and I guess it just carried on.
“I find coaching very rewarding; I absolutely love it. The look in a young person’s eye and the smile they give you when they’ve hit their first ball or taken their first clutch catch is priceless. You’ve helped them achieve that.
“I take my role very seriously but always make sure that we are all having fun. Sport is a great place to escape the challenges that life can throw at us and mingle with like-minded people and I can honestly say that there is no better feeling than hitting a baseball around for a couple of hours on a weekend.
“I challenge you to come down to Puma Land and prove me wrong.”
He said the women’s program is absolutely flourishing.
“I was very excited to hear the news a couple of seasons back that our club was going to field a women’s side in the women’s league,” he said.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to grow our club and with the success of AFLW and the women’s cricket now is the time for women to get out and play sports.
“I am very excited and am looking forward to the upcoming season and am looking forward to coaching this awesome bunch of amazing women.“
The women’s games are played on Sundays at either 12pm or 2:30pm. Training is on Tuesday nights from 6pm to 7:30pm at Toomuc Reserve, Olympic Way Pakenham.
If you are interested in coming down, please contact the club via Facebook, email pakenham.pumas@gmail.com, or call president Gregg Clutterbuck on 0408 241 326 or Secretary Nicki Betteridge on 0410 213 664.
