Recognizing a lack of junior teams in the area as well as the talent of a number of players graduating from the midget program, Randy Ervine and JoAnn McAdam from Kindersley and Don Robertson from Unity created the UK Royals in 2012.
In their first year the team captured a provincial title and the Western Canadian U21 title. In their first three years, the team repeated as provincial champions. This sent them to the Western Canadian event three times where they earned gold in 2012, placed fifth in 2013 and won silver in 2014.
In 2015, the UK Royals competed for the western Canadian championship in Surrey, B.C. The Royals lost only one game in the round robin and came from behind in an early 5-0 deficit to defeat the Vancouver Bomb Squad to capture the title.
In 2016, the team retained 10 of its veteran players. The Royals picked up three rookies, replacing the two players who graduated from the junior program.
Kori Herner, Ally Cey and Shelby Solomko are playing their third and final year in the junior program with the Royals. Other returning players are Kylie Walz, Jessica Weber, Brittany Hauta, Mackenzie Chorney, Rachel Mamer, Brooklyn Miller and Dacey Francis. Rookies are Heather Wood, Maddy Leibel and Rylee Denomy.
Coached by Don Robertson, Brent Weber and Joe Cey along with the experience of John “Huntzie” Klaehn, these coaches have liked what they’ve seen from the team this season heading into championship season.
The UK Royals are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd July 29 to Aug. 1 and are hoping softball fans will fill the stands this weekend to watch the top junior teams in Western Canada compete for the championship title.
