ABERFOYLE – A sports enthusiast and the main driver behind the growth of softball in Puslinch Township has been named Citizen of the Year.
Cameron Tuck, 52, received the honour at the April 12 Puslinch council meeting.
Mayor James Seeley sang Tuck’s praises as he presented the volunteer with a glass inuksuk sculpture.
“Cameron has shown incredible commitment to softball and through his leadership and dedication, it has grown,” Seeley said.
“You have brought baseball to a level that is astonishing.”
“I’m humbled by the whole thing,” Tuck said in an interview after the council meeting.
“And I have not done this alone. I have many, many people to thank and I share the award with them too.”
Always an athlete himself, playing baseball as a kid and hockey in university, Tuck started coaching minor softball in 1997 when his son started to play at age 4.
At the time there was just T-ball and three-pitch in Puslinch. Older kids would go to Guelph or Cambridge teams if they continued to play.
Tuck said while there was a healthy soccer league in Puslinch, baseball had fallen by the wayside.
“It was a decision a bunch of us made to keep it going and to grow the league,” he said.
Tuck said it started to take off in 2019. Even throughout the pandemic, as team play was modified and in some cases cancelled, registration grew.
This year there are about 120 kids registered, with four coaches per team.
There are three U11 teams, one U13, and Tuck said he’s hoping officials can recruit enough players to field an U15 team as well.
Tuck is secretary on the Puslinch Softball Association board of directors.
He coaches his son’s team and another team. He ran clinics last fall and this January and is always running between meetings, practices and games.
He said his wife Tonya is the one who really deserves the recognition.
“She tolerates me being out all the time,” Tuck said, adding there is no baseball in his household in November and December but it’s pretty constant the rest of the year.
He was nominated for the award by parents and the board of the softball association.
“I read their letters and I’m very humbled,” Tuck said.
“I have to say we have a terrific board and they make me look pretty good.”
Councillor Sara Bailey had kind words to say about Tuck as well.
She sat with Tuck on the recreation committee and has come to know him through her volunteer work with softball.
“You have a gift of the gab, in a very persuasive way, chatting with residents and recruiting folks to help with your goals,” Bailey said.
She also told Tuck he has “a fantastic way of connecting with the kids you coach.”
Bailey said Tuck presents value to kids, families and the entire community through his volunteer efforts, and is very deserving of the award.
