CBS Sports Hall of Fame Inductee: Paul F. Smith (Builder)

NL Fastpitch Would Like To Take This Opportunity To Congratulate Paul F. Smith On His Recent Induction Into The Conception Bay South Sports Hall of Fame In The Builder Category.

 

Congratulations Paul!

 

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Paul has been an avid volunteer at the Local and Provincial levels for many years. For over 50 years, Paul has been involved in the sport of Softball as a player, coach, umpire, and organizer. However, it has been his involvement as a coach and organizer which has provided countless youth and adults in Newfoundland and Labrador the opportunity to experience the sport at all levels from local Minor House League up to the National Senior level.

 

Paul’s involvement in Minor Softball began in 1987 when he began coaching his son’s Paul, Mark, and Peter in the Kelligrews Minor Softball League. From 1987 – 1994, Paul coached at both the House League and All-Star level, capturing several League and Provincial All-Star Medals. During this time, Paul also served on the league executive and volunteered as an umpire.

 

In 1993, Paul founded Conception Bay South Minor Softball League for boy's and girl's who had graduated from Kelligrews Minor Softball so that they could continue playing beyond the U14 (Pee Wee) level. From 1993 – 2006, Paul served as President of CBS Minor Softball while continuing to coach successfully at the House League and All-Star levels. During this period of time, Paul established boy's and girl's teams who competed at the U14 (Pee Wee), U16 (Bantam), and U19 (Midget) levels to participate in Slo-Pitch and Fastpitch House League and Provincial All-Star Competition.

 

In 1993, Paul entered his CBS U14 Boy's All-Star team into the Constable William Moss Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament in St. John’s. Comprised of mainly of slo-pitch players who had never experience fastpitch, the team went undefeated to the championship game earning the Silver Medal. Throughout the tournament the team defeated several established fastpitch teams with their strong defence and work ethic which had been instilled in them over the years. The success of this team sparked a renewed interest in fastpitch in the Conception Bay South area which continues to the present day.

 

In 1996, Conception Bay South hosted the Newfoundland and Labrador Summer Games. The multi sport event included Boy's Softball which was represented by teams from each of the 8 regions of the Province. As head coach of the Host CBS Boy's U16 team, Paul guided the team to the Silver Medal. That same year, the team entered the U16 Boy's division in the St. John’s Metro Softball League and defeated Waterford Valley in the final to be declared champions for the 1996 season. For their success, the CBS U16 Boy's Fastpitch Softball Team were named Team of the Year for 1996 at the annual CBS Athlete of the Year Awards night.

 

In 1998, Paul chaired the CBS committee which hosted the U16 (Bantam) Boy's Eastern Canadian Softball Championships in late August. That season, not only did Paul continue to coach the CBS U16 and U19 Boy's Fastpitch teams but also entered CBS Storm into the St. John’s Junior Men’s Softball League so that players could continue to play fastpitch softball into their adult softball careers. For his dedication to the sport, Paul was named the 1998 Executive of the Year by Softball Newfoundland and Labrador at the 1999 Awards ceremony.

 

As of 2016, CBS Storm continues to compete as a member team in the St. John’s Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch Softball League (formerly St. John’s Junior Men’s Softball League) with Paul Smith as the Head Coach. To date, the team has been successful in capturing the Intermediate Men’s Provincial Championship once (2014), Junior (2002) and Intermediate Provincial Championship (2013 & 2016) runner up 3 times, Swing into Summer Champions twice (2014 & 2016), and St. John’s Intermediate Men’s Fastpitch Softball League runner up twice (2008 & 2013).

 

Paul’s involvement in coaching has also extended into the female game. In 2005 & 2006, Paul coached the CBS U16 Girl's softball team to back to back Constable William Moss Memorial Championship victories. In 2005, the team also captured the Softball NL Provincial Championship. Since 2008, Paul has been the manager of the Newfoundland and Labrador Canada Summer Games Women’s Softball Teams (2009 – Prince Edward Island, 2013 – Quebec, and 2017 – Manitoba) that have also competed at numerous Provincial, Eastern Canadian, National, and International events.

 

Paul has been involved with softball as a Provincial organizer since 2006. From 2006 – present, Paul has been a member of the Constable William Moss Memorial Softball Tournament Committee. This tournament is the largest local tournament east of Montreal and in 2016 had a record number (38) of teams register in 5 divisions played throughout St. John’s. In 2009, Paul was elected to the Softball Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Directors as its Financial Director. Since that time, he has held various roles with Softball NL including Hall of Fame Committee Chair (2010 – Present), Umpire in Chief (2013 – Present), Minor Committee Member (2016 – Present), Vice President (2011 – 2013) and President (2013 – Present). Most recently, Paul was a member of the Host Committee for the 2016 Softball Canada Senior & Master’s Men’s Canadian Championships.

 

As one of the most respected and dedicated volunteers in the sport of softball in the last 30 years, Paul Smith has not only provided countless opportunities for the people of this Province to experience the sport but continues to mentor athletes and other volunteers on and off the field. Paul remains committed to the development of local softball players and making sure that opportunities to compete at the Local, National, and International level continue to increase.