Canadian Girls Baseball | Dana Bookman

Dana has received many accolades for her amazing work growing the game for girls. She was named by the Toronto Star as one of the top 12 Canadian Change Makers, made it into the Canadian Baseball Network's top 100 list of most influential Canadians in the sport, and was also named an RBC Woman of Influence and awarded a 2021 Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada.

Table of Contents

00:13 - Intro and Dana’s background

02:52 - The rise of Canadian Girls Baseball

04:22 - Effects of the pandemic on growth of sports programs

07:00 - Outcomes and adaption to COVID restrictions for sports programs

09:25 - Demand for youth sports camps resulting from COVID online fatigue

13:36 - Keeping girls motivated about sports as they grow older

14:47 - Catering sports camps toward 3-4 year old kids to keep them engaged

17:33 - Certifying coaches for girls' baseball

19:14 - Differences between coaching boys and girls

23:46 - Expanding Canadian Girls Baseball into British Columbia and other areas

29:34 - Should kids participate in outdoor sports during the pandemic?

33:32 - Online activities if in-person sports are restricted this summer

39:20 - Parent response to COVID limitations

43:57 - Using kids' feedback to build sports programs

46:58 - Outro

The interview featured on this episode of the Love What You Play podcast originally aired live on For the Love of the Game's Facebook page and YouTube channel.