It all begins tomorrow...

-

Hey Everyone!

I can’t believe the tournament officially begins tomorrow.  We have been in South Africa for almost a week now and everyone seems to have finally adjusted to the time change and new environment.  We just had our final exhibition game against the Aussies, and ended up losing 2-1.  Here’s a quick recap: we started the game off with a double by Jenny Gilbert and a double by myself, scoring our only run.  We held off the Aussies until the bottom of the third inning when they hit back-to-back bombs.  Not just homeruns that barely clear the fence, but bombs…the kind of homerun you don’t even need to watch go over, because you just know.  Our team played well, and I had forgotten how much fun I have playing with this group of girls.  We are always laughing, joking and having a great time, while maintaining our focus.  That game was it for our exhibition series.  After beating South Africa and losing to the Aussies, every game from here on out counts, and is crucial to our standings in the tournament.  Tomorrow is the Opening Ceremonies and games begin on Thursday, December 8th. 

Tomorrow is the day.  The day my teammates and I have all been waiting for.  The day of our African safari!  We are leaving the hotel at the crack of dawn and heading out on a ninety-minute bus ride to the safari place (I’m not sure what it’s called).  Judging by what Kylee Lahners, my teammate at Washington – and member of Team USA, had to say, it is going to be the experience of a lifetime.  I can hardly imagine what it will be like.  All that comes to mind is a crazy combination of a real life Lion King and trip to the zoo.  The only thing I know for sure is that it will be the experience of a lifetime, and I will be blown away.  I mean, how could you not be blown away seeing any one of these animals: a rhinoceros, zebra, lion, tiger, ostrich or giraffe – less than twenty feet away – without any cages or fences. 

Our day begins early tomorrow morning, breakfast at 6:30AM and it is already almost midnight here, so I’ll have to cut this one a bit short.

Thank you all for following & GO CANADA!

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