A Barrie sports living legend, Doris Laroche is the matriarch of girls softball in the area. Decades ago, the opportunities for girls to play sports in Barrie were very limited.
Laroche’s love of the game of softball and her determination led her to realize a dream. In 1977, Doris single-handedly founded the Barrie & District Girls Softball Association and she organized and managed this organization for a number of years. She also established and personally funded the creation of a scholarship fund that would see bursaries awarded to players going to university. The BDGSA continues to flourish with volunteers inspired by Doris Laroche’s passion for the game. In celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the BDGSA, the Association president Marc Reynolds stated “I think that anybody who has got daughters playing sports in Barrie should be proud of this woman. She is a true pioneer.”
