What fuels a lifetime passion?
Certainly early exposure to the activity is one necessary component, and a talent for it often provides another. Both factors inspired Blackstock-born Wayne Vennings, kindling a lifelong love for the game of baseball. And if you’ve ever played minor ball in Port Perry, in part you have Wayne to thank.
“My dad and my brother were both involved in ball, my father as an umpire and my brother as a player,” Wayne remembers. “Being tall for my age (he’s now 6’ 6”) definitely helped. And back then, there were fewer choices for summertime sports, so like so many of my generation, I played ball. My love for the game grew from there.
“A cottager from Toronto started a team in Cadmus, so I joined up.” This teenage experience, he recounts with a chuckle, involved more than simply athletic skill.
“Cows grazed in the same field we used during the week. You had to watch where you stepped!”
Finishing his high school in town, Wayne began his involvement with Port Perry softball. “That was 1962, and in my opinion, the ‘golden age’ of softball. It seemed like every centre, like Port Perry, had a good, competitive ball team.”
That year, Wayne laid the foundation for the town’s minor program. “Port Perry had teams which played challenge matches, but I helped organize an actual league as a member of the league’s executive.”
Fate contributed to his finding his true calling in the sport. “The team I was with folded, so I gave up playing competitive ball for coaching. I found that satisfying, just in a different way.”
As a fledgling coach, Wayne inherited a juvenile team which gave him his first taste of success.
“The kids on that Ballard Lumber team had already been together for several years when I came into the picture, and had had some success. But they hadn’t won it all. We wound up as all-Ontario champs in 1968.
But perhaps Wayne’s greatest level of success – and enjoyment – came when his own sons followed the family tradition and began playing competitive ball for Port Perry. As had been true for the Ballard Lumber team, “growing up together” contributed to the Port Perry Merchants’ later success under Wayne’s guidance.
“The core of that team stayed together for several years,” he says. “So the boys knew each other well, and so did we as coaches. We won three championships in a row in the mid-90’s, playing in three different divisions. That’s remarkable.”
Strong competition throughout the season provided another key to the group’s ultimate success, in Wayne’s opinion.
“You have to lose before you can win. The league we played in was very competitive, and that helped us to develop more than if we’d dominated. And by experiencing that ‘adversity,’ we appreciated the victory all the more, when they came.”
Wayne Venning, back left, is seen here with two younger generations of his family, who are following in their patriarch’s footsteps. That’s son Craig, back right, and in front from left are Ethan, 9, Alex, 5 and Reed, 7 who are all avid softball players. Photo by J. Peter Hvidsten
Wayne’s youngest son, Chad, pitched for those powerful Merchant clubs, while older son Craig followed his father’s example by joining the team as an assistant coach.
Father and son have continued their collaboration beyond those early days, this time with the roles reversed, as grandsons Ethan and Reed begin their athletic careers.
“I help Craig with his practices,” he explains. “I don’t interfere, but found that I could help, and he appreciates that.”
As you’d expect, Wayne’s longevity and tireless efforts – he also coached hockey over the years, including a 1972 Bantam squad which captured an all-Ontario title – have not gone unnoticed. In 1996, he received the “Frank Feaver Award” from Ontario Amateur Softball for his outstanding contribution over the years.
“I’m very proud of this,” he says, indicating the handsome commemorative plaque which identifies him as “Mr. Softball.”
Locally, Wayne was inducted into Port Perry’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 in the “Builder” category reserved for coaches, sponsors, and umpires.
So what, based on his experience, makes a great coach? “Commitment,” he replies immediately.
Then, after giving the topic some more thought, he adds: “Of course you have to have good players, and during my career, I was very fortunate to have many of those. They enjoyed playing and we enjoyed coaching them. That love of the game, on the field and on the bench, is very important for any team’s success.”
Beyond his contribution to Craig’s team, Wayne currently serves as curator for Port Perry’s Sports Hall of Fame as well as a member of the Induction Committee for its Wall of Fame. Involvement with amateur athletics for almost 50 years has not dimmed Wayne Vennings’ passion for the game he first embraced as a lanky first baseman.
“I still enjoy going to watch the local games,” he says with a wide smile.
Games, played by today’s house league and Port Perry rep teams, which began with a man with a vision – and a passion – five decades ago.
By Scott Mercer
Focus on Scugog
