Softball Legend Keeps
Teaching the Game
By Scott Taylor, Photos courtesy Greg Bouchard and Softball Manitoba
Back in the day, softball star Greg
Bouchard was the best fastball
pitcher in Manitoba. Of course, he
certainly had the pedigree.
Of course, you might say Bouchard
had softball in his blood. After all, his
father Leo, his uncle Cam, his aunt
Grace and his cousin Stacy were all
members of the Manitoba Softball
Hall of Fame before he was inducted
in 2014.
In fact, he gave quite a speech on
the day of his Hall of Fame induction:
“I’m so proud to be joining my father,
my uncle and aunt and my cousin
in the Hall of Fame,” he said. “My
father, Leo, was inducted in 2003,
my uncle Cam in 2004 and my aunt
Grace (Peckover) Bouchard, a great
CUAC Blues catcher, was inducted in
2007. And Cam and Grace’s daughter,
Stacy, was also inducted in 2007 as
a member of the 1993-1997 Smitty’s
senior teams. There is no honour that
I can think of that means more to me
than this. Joining my family in the
Hall is humbling for me.”
Upon his induction, he was called
“a dominating pitcher in Manitoba
Softball” who took his teams to
many Western and Canadian
Championships. In 1979, he was
named Softball Manitoba’s Male
Minor Player of the Year. In 1980, he
was named the top Senior Player.
And in 1989, the Top Male Player.
He was also called “Greg Bouchard
-- the great pitcher, great team-mate
and great guy.”
But that was then, this is now.
Today, at 54, Bouchard is no
longer the strikeout master that he
was when he pitched at the highest
levels of the game However, that just
means that he has time to give back.
Bouchard is still pitching, albeit most
of that pitching is done on a warm
Saturday morning with a gaggle of
young boys and girls around him,
28 / sportslife
hanging on every word.
Bouchard is the Master Pitching
Instructor for Softball Manitoba and
he comes by his ability to teach with
the same experience and wisdom
that made him a great pitcher: He
became a great school teacher first.
“I grew up in a softball family,”
said Bouchard who is now the
principal at Andrew Mynarski
School in Winnipeg. “I was the kid
pitching between Winnipeg Colonels’
doubleheader games at Charlie
Krupp Stadium. I was taught and
mentored by the best pitchers in
Canada, the best pitchers you would
ever see.
“My Uncle Gabby was the Colonels
pitcher. My dad, Leo, was the
coach. It was Claude Gagnon who
got him to Colonels, working for
old Harry Beukert. I played hockey
and some football and fell in love
with basketball, but softball was
my game. In fact, the last basketball
coaching job I had was in the 90s and
early 2000s with Dave Crook at the
University of Winnipeg.
“These days, I’ve been able to
give back as the Master Pitching
Instructor for Manitoba. It’s been
very rewarding but I’ve noticed that
fastpitch is becoming a women’s
game or a First Nation’s game. It’s
amazing, but all this work I’ve been
doing as the provincial instructor
has taken me to a lot of places in the
province. A couple of weeks ago, I
did a clinic at Fisher River, and I’ve
noticed that the only time I get to
work with males is when I go to an
aboriginal community.”
It’s true. It appears that most males
in Manitoba and even Canada, have
decided that slopitch is the answer.
Fastpitch, as a male sport, has been
dying a fast death while female
athletes, especially in our province,
have taken over the game.