Ottawa, Ont. – The Canadian Women’s National Softball Team will hold a Selection Camp from January 3-9, 2018 in Fort Myers, Fla. with thirty (30) players from the Women’s National Team Athlete Pool competing for a spot on the 2018 roster. Team Canada has a busy schedule in 2018 as they prepare for the WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship that will take place August 2-12 in Chiba, Japan.
Following the Selection Camp, the coaching staff will select a group of athletes to compete for Team Canada at various events during the upcoming season, including the World Cup of Softball in Irvine, Calif. and the Canada Cup in Surrey, B.C.
In 2017, Team Canada won bronze medals at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City, Okla. and at the WBSC Americas Pan American Championship held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Canada’s previous WBSC Women’s World Championship result was a bronze medal in 2016 in Surrey, B.C.
The athletes who will be attending the Women’s National Team Selection Camp from January 3-9, 2018 in Fort Myers, Fla. are:
FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | HOMETOWN |
Sierra | Bertrand | Stirling, Ont. |
Kara | Bilodeau | Cumming, Ga. |
Kristen | Brown | Levittown, N.Y. |
Jenna | Caira | Toronto, Ont. |
Jocelyn | Cater | Delta, B.C. |
Sarah | Chow | Victoria, B.C. |
Emma | Entzminger | Victoria, B.C. |
Larissa | Franklin | Maple Ridge, B.C. |
Kenzie | Friesen | Saskatoon, Sask. |
Jennifer | Gilbert | Saskatoon, Sask. |
Sara | Groenewegen | Surrey, B.C. |
Victoria | Hayward | Toronto, Ont. |
Karissa | Hovinga | Edmonton, Alta. |
Kelsey | Jenkins | Delta, B.C. |
Danielle | Lawrie | Langley, B.C. |
Janet | Leung | Mississauga, Ont. |
Joey | Lye | Toronto, Ont. |
Grace | Messmer | Surrey, B.C. |
Maria | Palmegiani | Surrey, B.C. |
Callum | Pilgrim | Abbotsford, B.C. |
Sara | Plourde | Baker Lake, N.B. |
Erika | Polidori | Brantford, Ont. |
Kaleigh | Rafter | Guelph, Ont. |
Nicole | Rivait | Oakville, Ont. |
Victoria | Rumph | Mount Forest, Ont. |
Jenn | Salling | Port Coquitlam, B.C. |
Nicole | Schroeder | Yorba Linda, Calif. |
Holly | Speers | Surrey, B.C. |
Brooke | Vander Heide | Sandy, Utah |
Natalie | Wideman | Mississauga, Ont. |
COACHING STAFF
POSITION | NAME | HOMETOWN |
Head Coach | Mark Smith | Falmouth, N.S. |
Assistant Coach/Manager | Melissa Basilio | Pickering, Ont. |
Assistant Coach | Russell Cooper | Tahiti Bay, NZL |
Assistant Coach | Dave Paetkau | Abbotsford, B.C. |
Pool Coach | Melissa Finley | London, Ont. |
Pool Coach | Chris Jones | Oshawa, Ont. |
Pool Coach | Tiffany Jordan | Guelph, Ont. |
Pool Coach | Keith Mackintosh | Melfort, Sask. |
Guest Coach | Marty Kernaghan | Grafton, Ont. |
Performance Analyst | Glenn Boles | St. Catharines, Ont. |
Performance Analyst | Hubie Basilio | Oshawa, Ont. |
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Scott Willgress | Halifax, N.S. |
Mental Performance Coach | Lauren Tashman | Pennington, N.J. |
Athletic Therapist | Natalie Ghobrial | North York, Ont. |