About Orleans Softball - A brief history

Orleans Softball, or Orleans Amateur Fastball Association, started in 1972 with about 30 kids playing the fun game of softball. Frank Bender was the president and operating, at that time called Orleans Minor Softball Association, out of his home and garage.  In 1976 Lise and Bernie Beauregard both joined the association. Lise on took the role of equipment and canteen manager and Bernie introduced the traveling team program, forming teams from different age groups and competing in tournaments.  These teams later became known as the Orleans Élites.  This lead to start hosting our own tournaments and eventually hosting the All Ontario Provincial Championships in different divisions for many years since that first time.  Our Association become so big that we needed more room for our equipment and the City of Gloucester let us use a room at the Orleans Complex.  We also took over the Old Fieldhouse at the time called Preseault Park, now Pierre Rocque Park.  We completely cleaned and painted the facility to give it a fresh new start

Through the years as the Village of Orleans grew, the O.M.S.A. grew by hundreds of players year over year.  By 1990, the O.M.S.A. had a registration of 792 kids playing ball.  In 1994 the O.M.S.A changed its name to the Orleans Amateur Fastball Association, this was done to allow players over the age of 18 years old to be able to play in the Junior division, up to age 23.  On that same year the association had 1,553 players registered to play softball.

As the years went by we lobbied the City for better facilities and better diamonds.  After many efforts we managed to get our diamonds resurfaced with a sand base instead of gravel.  After all that time we had our hopes up because we heard they were building a new diamond on Orleans blvd. but to our disappointment the Heritage Diamond was given to Orleans Little League.

In 1997 Mr. Bender stepped down as president of the OAFA and received an award for his 25 years as a volunteer.  Bernie Beauregard was elected as President.  That year some felt we needed a new name for our Competitive teams; we had a contest that all players participated in and the name that was accepted to replace the Élite was the Orleans Rebels.

In 2001 Bernie Beauregard stepped down as President and received his award for 25 years of dedication as a volunteer from the OAFA.  He was replaced by Mr. Ken Naylor.  Ken had been with the association for many years and was a good candidate to take over the position of President. That year, with the help of Ken and his wife Pam the association introduced the Select Level of play, it was not house league but also not a travelling competitive team.  This new level of play was very well received and many are still playing at that level today.  That year the association also introduced the new exciting Blastball game at the t-ball level.

In 2002 the Cumberland Minor Softball Association joined the OAFA and the association had close to 900 players registered, the OAFA is one of the most successful softball associations in Ontario and Canada.

In 2010 Ken Naylor decided it was time to step down as President and Rob Douthwright was elected as the new President.  Rob had been very busy in the association as a coach, convenor and board member with many excellent ideas.

Many teams from this association have competed at the Provincial and National levels with very good success over the last 30 years.  We are well known all over for our high level of play and our fair play.

All of this success could not have been possible if not for the thousands of volunteers that gave their time and devotion to the development of theses young children, our future generations.

The association also wants to recognize the many sponsors that have supported the OAFA.  One in particular Lacroix Sports who have sponsored our kids since the early 1970’s.  In 2002 we had over 40 sponsors supporting our players.

In 2011 we celebrated our 40^th Anniversary of offering Softball in Orleans including Vars, Navan and Notre Dame Des Champs, and continue to offer SOFTBALL PROGRAMS for boys,  girls, men and women from ages 5 to 21 in House, Select and Competitive leagues.  We also include the popular Softball Canada "Learn to Play" program for our younger players.

We offer programs year round that cater to varied ages and skill levels. Our regular season program runs from May to September with registration taking place in February, March and April. During the fall and winter months we run an indoor gym program that focuses on specific skill development for all players. We encourage fun and learning for all players and provide training and clinics for our volunteer coaches.

We offer 3 levels of play during the regular season: House-League, Select and Competitive/Rep.

We are proud members of the True Sport Movement.

Learn more about our shared principles.

We are also members of the Softball Ontario Play Softball Network.

For further information call or email any member of the board of directors.