Boikanyo Salomane Steps Up for Softball’s Future

Boikanyo Salomane, a dedicated and rising talent from Mafftown Hyenas Softball Club, has steadily built a name for herself within the North West softball circuit. Having represented the provincial team consistently from 2021 to 2024, her journey reflects both resilience and a deep commitment to the growth of the sport. On the field, she has become known not only for her performance, but for her leadership and passion—qualities that extend far beyond competition.

Off the field, Salomane carries a vision that speaks to the future of softball in her community and beyond. With ambitions of establishing her own sports academy, she is driven by a desire to create opportunities for young athletes who may not otherwise have access to structured development pathways. In the short term, her focus is clear: to nurture and develop a strong pool of players capable of representing at both provincial and national levels, helping to strengthen the sport’s competitive foundation in South Africa.

In this conversation, Salomane opens up about her journey, the lessons she has learned along the way, and the broader challenges facing softball today. From limited resources and visibility to the need for stronger development systems, she shares her perspective on what must be done for the sport to gain the recognition it deserves.

Please tell us about yourself and where you are from?
My name is Boikanyo Salomane, born and bred in Rustenburg but currently reside in Mahikeng. Started playing softball in 2018, was part of the provincial senior ladies team from 2021 to 2024 (2025 & 2026 I had health problems). My local team is Mafftown Hyenas and I've been a selector for the U/23 male's team from 2023.

How did you first get involved in softball?
I've heard a lot about softball when I used to visit my grandmother in Itsoseng but never took part or signed up for any team. In Mahikeng, I was meeting up with a friend some day and he mentioned he has softball practice at NWU Mahikeng campus, then I met up with him there and joined the practice session.

Who or what has been your biggest influence in your softball journey?
My biggest influence would be helping out with development. It brings me sooo much joy seeing young kids play and enjoy softball. I love seeing friendships being formed through sports and I see that a lot with the young ones.

What’s your favourite memory from when you first started playing? 
🤣🤣🤣 I remember my coach used to say to me ''don't swing at anything'' when I was at bat, I became a joke for that. People knew I was just going to stand there and pose, if I'm lucky, I'd get a free base. One day a few of the ladies I met there told me to forget about what my coach said and just swing at anything, I took a chance, got a hit and saved at base two. Since that day, I never looked back and it has boosted my confidence til now.

What's been your biggest challenge as a softball player and how did you overcome it?
My biggest challenge is my health, my body can't allow me to maintain the level of fitness I need and most of the time my health is not on the good side and I can't even participate in practice sessions and games. Another problem would be the fact that we don't have an active league in the province so we don't get enough game time but we've recently started organizing mass training and practice games just to keep the players active.

What are your short-term goals and long-term goals in softball?
Short term: to develop more than enough players in our district to represent us in the provincial and national teams. Another one is to push activity at primary school level so that we have players who have a very strong foundation in softball from a young age.

Long term: it may seem a bit far fetched or a bit too ambitious but I'd love to one day run a sports academy, focusing mainly on softball, baseball and baseball 5.

What's one piece of advice you would give to aspiring softball players?
Block out all the noise, stay fit, apply the basics and have fun.

How do you balance work with your softball commitments?
Normally, softball training sessions and tournaments are on weekends so it's easier to attend but if there's something during the week, I just find ways to make it there or just accept that I'm going to miss that one. If it's paperwork related, I always plan ahead for softball and prepare whatever paperwork if required from me and keep copies on my phone to make it easier to forward them where they need to go.

If you could meet any professional softball player, past or present, who would it be and why?
Odicci Alexander, she advocates for the underdogs and pushes for them, especially black girls. She's from a small town and didn't have the ''greatest'' foundation in softball due to limitations of where she comes from but she proved that, lack of accessibility to high end training facilities does not mean you can't make it big.

If you could play any other sport professionally, what would it be and why?
I think it would be hockey, I've always been intrigued by it but never got the chance to try it out.

How would you describe the current popularity of softball in South Africa?
Softball in South Africa isn’t mainstream like rugby or cricket yet, but we’re the top nation in Africa. Both our men’s and women’s teams regularly qualify for World Cups, and the National Provincial Championship is our biggest tournament where national teams get picked. It’s still growing — most clubs are in rural communities and we’re building funding and school programs — but being a softball player here means competing with a lot of pride and heart. Softball’s still developing in South Africa, but we’re the strongest country in Africa and regularly make World Cups. The sport is mostly community-driven in rural areas, and the NPC is our biggest event. We’re competitive internationally, but still growing the game back home.

How does softball compare to bigger sports like rugby, cricket or football in terms of support and visibility? 
Softball doesn't get enough recognition and support it needs. One of our biggest challenges is funding, we're struggling with funds to push our teams where they need to be. We currently don't have an active league in the North West and most teams in the province don't even have enough equipment for the whole team. Some have a few gloves and nothing else. I think we need to focus more on securing private sponsorships because even the department of sports gives us the ''there are no funds'' answer most of the time.

What areas (schools, clubs, universities) are seeing the most growth right now?
Areas with most growth right now:
Limpopo– Hosted the Men’s World Cup African Qualifier in Mokopane. Strong rural club base.
Gauteng– SSA says transformation here is “a work in progress,” meaning active development focus
KwaZulu-Natal- Same as Gauteng, flagged as key growth area by SSA. 
Right now softball in South Africa is growing fastest in Limpopo, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal, with most clubs still based in rural communities. At school level, the biggest growth is in universities through annual championships and in U18 programs where SSA runs youth tournaments to pick World Cup teams.

What gaps exist between South Africa and top softball nations?
The biggest gaps are funding, school programs, and facilities. Top softball nations like the USA and Japan have pro leagues, full scholarships, and softball in almost every high school. In South Africa most clubs are rural, associations are still battling for funding, and we’re working to grow school and university programs to build that same depth.

Are local leagues competitive enough to prepare players for international level?
Some provinces do have competitive leagues and the NPC brings the best players together, which is why South Africa still makes it to World Cups. But in North West we don’t have any active leagues, so the local competition isn’t at international level yet. That means if you’re from here, you have to create your own standard and use every NPC or national camp to close that gap.

Picture: Supplied