Giants to set record team count for new season

Giants Softball Club president Richard Clarke says they will be fielding a record number of sides in Hutt Valley competitions in the 2010 season.
Clarke is "very hopeful" of two extra teams being added to the nine who wore the Giants colours last year, an under-11s mixed combination and a second women's team which would compete at premier two level.
The under-11s are, in fact, definite starters but the second women's team will depend to a large extent on how many of the players who won the Hutt Valley major B women's title for Giants last season are willing to play at a level where they will also be involved in Inter-City competition against Wellington-based clubs.
"Quite a few are very keen to go up but there are some who are still undecided," Clarke said, adding Giants would have a major B women's side again.
The growth of softball in Wairarapa - where Giants is the only active club - comes as no surprise to Clarke, who has first-hand knowledge of the hard work done by committee members over recent years to raise the profile of the sport throughout the region.
"We've been very pro-active in encouraging youngsters to get involved and that is really paying off now," he said.
As to the Giants premier men's team the good news is that after playing last season without an official coach they have already appointed Murray Brown to that position for 2011. Brown formerly played for the premiers and coached the club's under-18s last year.
Whether Brown will have any "imports" boosting his squad remains to be seen with Clarke - the side's number one pitcher - confirming approaches had been made to prospective players in the United States and Canada but no signings had yet been made.
"It's possible we could get a couple, or even three, but nothing is guaranteed," he said.