St Paul's Peter Garty recognised for years of softball involvement with NSW Combined Colleges Service Award

After over a decade of involvement in the sport, the now retired teacher, was recognised by NSW Catholic Schools Sport with the NSW Combined Colleges Service Award for years of dedication as a coach, manager and selector in softball.

Mr Garty was among six people to receive a service award and was delighted with the nomination and recognition.

"I was humbled, pleased and grateful," he said.

"You don't do it for the awards - I've had quite a few years involved in it so it's a nice way to wrap it up."

Before 1999, Mr Garty had a minimal relationship with baseball and softball.

However, a teaching exchange in Canada changed all of that when the Toronto Blue Jays sparked an interest that would perpetuate forever.

"I was with my family in Toronto in 1999 and got to take in five or six Major League Baseball games watching the Blue Jays," he said.

"There was an Aussie pitcher called Graham Lloyd playing for them and I just fell in love with baseball which was something I never thought I'd do."

After the exchange year ended, Mr Garty returned to Kempsey which the full intention to embed himself into the sport locally.

"We had a small but vibrant baseball club in Kempsey run by Lynne and Mac McMillan - they also ran softball so that was interlinked," he recalled.

"They fostered the interest and were super supportive - it was their life.

"That rubbed off on my family, it was just a small country town with a family oriented club.

"I started playing baseball then naturally softball and my kids came along and then it reached a stage where all the kids playing were going into St Paul's and there was no pathway for them."

In 2006, Mr Garty started the sport at St Paul's where he had to ring up the Lismore Diocese representatives and get permission for a mixed team.

"Otherwise we wouldn't have had enough for a team," he laughed.

While the team wasn't successful in their first year, the wins eventually came.

"Lynne would come up and held coach at lunch time," Mr Garty said.

"Two three or four times we ended up winning at the Diocese championships - as they say from little things big things grow."

Mr Garty's involvement in the sport then expanded heavily after holding roles as NSW All Schools selector, NSW Combined Colleges coach and manager as well as NSW All Schools boys assistant coach.

"One of my best memories is at the Pacific Schools games around 2015-17, there was teams from India, New Zealand etc.," he said.

"We thrashed the Indian team in one game and then they were playing the softball equivalent of park cricket and some of the boys and girls were teaching them technique, how to move, how to turn the glove and just having a great time."

While he's now only casually teaching, Mr Garty's love of softball still keeps him involved.

"If we get off the ground I'm hopeful to go to Perth as assistant coach of the All Schools team," he said.

"As long as they want me, I'll still drive down to Sydney and help out."

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