Double-A softball in the Interlake will take a different look and meaning to the diamond this season.
Select members of the Interlake Phillies’ softball program will suit up as the AA Interlake Maroons this summer.
Talks of rebranding began last year as it became increasingly apparent that there was a legitimate appetite for AA softball in the area, said Jeff Kisiloski, director of the Interlake Maroons program.
“You’ve got a lot of A-ball clubs, you’ve got some AAA clubs, but now that we’re gaining a lot of support and a lot of acceptance and a lot of interest at the AA level, we really wanted it to be more of a stand-alone team,” Kisiloski said.
Double-A softball has seen some remarkable growth in a short time.
The Phillies introduced a AA team at the U13 level in 2022. After a successful debut, squads in U11 and U15 were added to the mix last year — which meant about 50 girls from the Interlake playing in total.
With another jump in registration anticipated — and more than 70 players slated to attend tryouts — the AA Maroons could field squads in the U11, U13, U15 and U17 divisions this season.
About 75 attendees were accounted for over two developmental camps hosted by the Maroons this winter. The camp was exclusively for players who intend on trying out for the AA squad in May.
Maroons tryouts go May 4-5 and May 11-12 — schedules for each age group will be released at a later date.
“For years… there really wasn’t that intermediate group that gave A-ball players an opportunity to play at an elevated level throughout the year,” Kisiloski said.
“So when you add in the AA level now, you got a segment of girls that tryout for AAA but don’t make it and you have a segment of girls who maybe don’t want to play AAA but want more than what the A-ball season offers. This is a longer season, bit more competitive … it’s an elevated level of competition that isn’t the full commitment of a AAA program. I think that’s a good part of the growth.”
The rebrand has welcomed a change in the dugout, too, as each Maroons team will include a current and/or ex-AAA Phillies player on the coaching staff.
Kisiloski said the idea was intended to show players the growth opportunities that exist within the program. Certainly, those who play the game at a high level will have no trouble relating to the AA players and their struggles throughout the season.
“It really just shows that there’s a lot of synergies between the AAA program, the AA program and even the single-A program too, that everybody is giving back to the community and giving back to players who are currently playing their experience that they’ve learned growing up within the (program),” he said
“Parent volunteers drive it, no doubt, but when you can really leverage and get playing experience on your coaching staff it just makes it so much more developmental and so much more professional for sure.”
Kisiloski said the Maroons’ self-explanatory team name has taken on a different meaning over the winter — it now goes beyond its colour scheme.
The team will practise and play under the slogan, ‘The few, the proud, the Maroons,’ which is a riff on the United States Marine Corps slogan, ‘The few, the proud, the Marines.’
“It’s a slogan to suggest that this isn’t just something that you sign up for — this is something where you come to tryouts, you demonstrate your skills and your abilities and then you get selected to be a part of this team,” Kisiloski said.
The Manitoba Premier AA Softball League will run from May to July, concluding with the provincial championship in Brandon.
