CB Centre athletes, coaches judged to be tops in province

By Chris Lewis | Vol. 32 No. 5 (April 24 2019)

When Softball Newfoundland and Labrador handed out its annual awards and honours Friday, it was no surprise to those who follow the sport that many of the recipients hailed from the Conception Bay Centre area.
Among those whose names were added to the list of Hall of Fame athletes was John Farrell of Holyrood.

Farrell is best known for his 23-year involvement with the St. John’s Senior Men’s Fastpitch League. There he helped his teams win seven championships, while also being judged an eight-time All-Star catcher.
Farrell has also been a member of six St. John’s Day Tournament championship teams and was named to the Senior League All Decade Team as a catcher.

Farrell also represented the province in minor, junior, and senior level tournaments across Canada. Of his 14 senior men’s national tournaments, Farrell returned home with one gold and three different silver medals.

Dave Connors of Conception Harbour was also honoued by Softball NL as Minor Coach of the Year. For years, he has coached T-Ball and the U-12 and U-16 divisions in the CBC Minor Softball Association house league, while also coaching a CBC entry in the U-8 Timbits Jamboree, and the U-12 and U-16 Girls’ teams that participated in Softball NL provincial tournaments. The latter team went on to land the gold medal at the Constable William Moss Memorial Softball Tournament.

Connors has been heavily involved in the province’s girls’ softball world. He sat as a member of the coaching staff for the U-16 Girls’ NL Selects, that travelled to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia for the U-16 Girl’s Eastern Canadian Softball Championship.

Chapel’s Cove also got plenty of representation at Friday night’s event. Emily Hawco and Eric Healey of Chapel’s Cove were awarded with the Minor Female Player of the Year and Junior Male Player of the Year awards respectively.

Hawco is one of the players who contributed to the U-16 Girls’ CBC team taking home the gold from the Constable William Moss Memorial Softball Tournament, while also participating in the St. John’s Women’s Fastpitch League with the U-16 NL Selects.

Healey played an integral role on the CBC Junior Canadians Intermediate Men’s Team which placed first in the Swing into Summer Tournament, and the Intermediate Provincial Tournament. Healey was the Intermediate League Regular Season MVP last year, leading the circuit with nine wins and 131 strikeouts, and being selected to the All-League Team as a pitcher.

The contributions of Joe Devereaux of Conception Bay South, meanwhile, were also honoured. Devereaux is one of 29 umpires from across the country who were selected for induction into the 2019 Class of the Canadian Indicator Club, making him the sixth umpire from the province to be named a recipient of this award.