One down, nine to go

-

Hey Everyone!

WE BEAT PUERTO RICO 10-2!

I thought about phrasing that many different ways, but why not get right to the point, eh? The game was pretty crazy, so much offense!  One of my teammates, Kaleigh Rafter, who we jokingly and appropriately call “Raf-star” was on fire, with half of our RBIs (runs batted in), scoring me twice.  The highlight of the game, in my opinion, was my web gem in the third inning.  In my latest blog I mentioned the conditions of the outfield, but I hereby take all of that back, I absolutely love it!  I was playing right field, normal depth when a ball was crushed over my head, hands down a home run on a regulation size field.  Remember those 240-foot fences?  Boy did they end up helping me out!  With at least twenty yards to go until I smashed into the cement wall, now graciously padded with two inches of hard foam, I turned my head and sprinted back.  With about 8 feet until the wall, I reached out my glove; almost face planted, and made the catch with just enough time to brace myself before running into the wall.  If I had dropped the ball…it could have easily been a triple or in the park home run.  So I’m claiming I robbed my first home run J.  From then on, it was all Canada.  We scored 7 runs in that inning and cut the game short via the mercy rule.  I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates and with a double header later today against Venezuela and Cuba, we are definitely headed in the right direction.

The Village has been awesome so far.  There’s unlimited Gatorade, Powerade, Sprite, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Fruit by the Foot, chocolate milk and Nature Valley bars.  Overall, the food served in the dining hall has been pretty good, the Mexican food they make is delicious; the food only gets a bit sketchy when the cooks try to make cuisine of the other delegations.  There’s an athlete’s lounge with a TV broadcasting each medal game in real time and a room with a Wii and Xbox, stocked with the best games.  There has only been one problem with the Village thus far, sewage.... 
When signs like these have been posted above every toilet in the Village since day 2, you know there's a problem.  There is a river of sewage that runs through the middle of the Village.  Everyday when walking to the dining hall, buses, or International Village, we cross this river.  I have never smelt anything worse in my life, but hey, if the toilets are still flushing, I think we will be just fine.

We've got a big day ahead of us with two games, but I can't wait :)

GO CANADA!

Love,

Victoria

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Instagram vs. Reality?: A Female Athlete’s Road to Recognition

-
Image
Like millions of people all over the world, I watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup.    I saw female ambassadors for not only soccer, but sport, kicking ass.    I read Abby Wombach’s book, “Wolfpack”, a call to women everywhere to go out and get what the f*** they want.    I can turn on ESPN in the month of May and can watch 5 college softball games at ONCE!    Even our professional game is getting love through an amazing partnership with FloSoftball, airing nearly every single game of the National Pro Fastpitch’s season!    What a time for women in sports!  Then I turn to my reality: If all goes well at our qualifying event at the end of the summer, our team will have secured our spot in the 2020 Olympics (AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!).    Then, each of us will have about a month off to recover, recoup and get back on our grind.   The Canadian government and sport organizations have recognized our (Softball Canada’s) success over the last number of years, allowing us to maintain our de-cen
Read more

Pan-American Games

-
To my family, friends, fans and anyone else that randomly finds this link on Google - Writing a blog is much harder than I had originally thought it might be. I have written, rewritten and rewritten again the opening line for this first blog.  No "one liner" can capture all of the ideas running through my head.  I had been thinking about documenting my experiences and travels with the Canadian National Team for some time now; but hey, no time like the present, right?  Basically, I want some sort of chronicle that, when I'm fifty years old with a family of my own, I can look back to.  Something I can read to my kids in hopes of inspiring them to follow their own dreams.  Something that can bring me back to the amazing experiences I have had and will have throughout the coming years.   It is a beautiful, clear night here in Guadalajara, Mexico.  I'm sitting outside of our "Athlete's Lounge" grabbing the only strong signal of Internet on this half of th
Read more

Until Next Summer.....

-
Image
Hey Everyone! This whirlwind of a quarter has come to an end.  What an experience.  I am beyond grateful for the opportunities that playing for Team Canada has presented me.  It is hard to believe that a few short years ago I showed up to a Team Canada tryout in Vancouver, not having a single clue of what to expect.  It has now been an amazing three and a half years.  I have played on three different continents, in six different countries: Canada, the United States, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico and now South Africa.  I have seen so much of the world, simply playing the game I love.  It has opened so many doors for me.  It brought me to Sorcerer, to the All-America game my senior year of high school and of course, to the University of Washington.  Team Canada has honestly changed my life and I am thankful every single day. These three weeks flew by.  I am now back in California, sitting on my couch looking through pictures, already reminiscing on the amazing time I had with my coaches
Read more