6/20:
This blog is the fourth from
Hannah Schwarz after concluding her week in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
trying out for the Women's Canadian National Softball Team. If
successful, she
will get the opportunity to represent Canada in competitions
against other nations from
around the world on the diamond.
In this blog, Schwarz recaps the
final days of tryouts that started on Thursday. She advanced to the
second round and completed the camp on Sunday. Keep up with her
journey by returning to www.GoIslanders.com periodically for updates from
her.
Hello
everyone! It has been a
full weekend of softball, just the way I like it! Saturday we started off with some
batting practice, and then jumped right into scrimmaging. In total we played, I want to
say, close to sixteen innings on the day. A lot of time on the field!
The
team camaraderie was great. Everyone was each other's
"buddy". There were many
"buddies," "buds," and "ehs'" flying around the ball park
throughout the course of the weekend! I am sure a Canadian thing!
Sunday
we began with some pre-game drills and then were back at the
scrimmaging. It was a much
shorter day as we were done by noon as opposed to 5 p.m. I felt pretty good about my
showing on Saturday and Sunday, started off a little rough on
Friday, but I feel I bounced back fairly well. There is always room for improvement,
so I know more can always be done.
At the
end of the camp, Coach Smith announced the plan for if you are to
make it to the next round which would be located in Whitehorse,
Yukon. We will be called
by 8 p.m. on Tuesday night if it is good news. If the journey has ended then we will
not hear from the coaching staff. As for now, I will be in Toronto
seeing if I get "the call". I am nervous, a little excited, but
all in all I am happy with the experience regardless. I will keep you all posted!
Thanks
for keeping up!
6/18:
This
blog is the third from Hannah Schwarz throughout the week in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada as she tries out for the Women's Canadian
National Softball Team. If successful, she will get the opportunity
to represent Canada in competitions against other nations from
around the world on the diamond.
In this
blog, Schwarz recaps her the first days of tryouts that started on
Thursday. She advanced to the second round and will spend the
weekend competing for a spot on the team. Keep up with her journey
by returning to www.GoIslanders.com periodically
for updates from her.
Hello all!
I am checking in from Brampton, Ontario where the camp has begun.
Two of my cousins and I have decided to stay the night since we got
off the field tonight at 8:30 p.m. and have to back at 9:30 in the
morning. I will probably be on the field when you
guys are reading this!
Thursday,
as promised, was full of testing, both physical and
positional. The outfielders made throws to different bags,
everyone was timed from home to first and second, and the overall
fitness of the athlete was examined. In total there were close to
30-35 girls who came out for the camp. It was a whirlwind of an
afternoon!
Friday was full of scrimmaging. We were split into three different
teams and played two games in the morning session. Following the
morning session each one of the participants received an envelope.
The sheet either concluded the athlete's participation in the
evaluation process or the athlete was requested to continue with
the evaluation process.
Reading
the bottom of my sheet was a bit nerve-racking, but I was happy
to see that my journey had not come to an end. I am grateful that
I will at least have the weekend to play and show what kind of
player I am! Along with this news, the sheet included all the
scores and times from Thursday's testing. It was nice to get this
feedback!
Saturday will start with some batting practice and then jump into
more scrimmaging! I am looking forward to it!
It is getting late, and I have an early call, so I will sign off!
Thanks for keeping up!
6/15:
This
blog is the second from Hannah Schwarz throughout the week in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada as she tries out for the Women's Canadian
National Softball Team. If successful, she will get the opportunity
to represent Canada in competitions against other nations from
around the world on the diamond.
In this
blog, Schwarz recaps her first two days of workouts in Canada
before starting tryouts on Thursday. Keep up with her journey by
returning to www.GoIslanders.com periodically
for updates from her.
Good
morning! I have been rather busy the past two days
with workouts. It was great meeting Coach Basilio on
Monday night for my lesson. We had the cage for the
hour of hitting, and then headed over to a nearby field to take
some defense.
The two
other girls I hit with were very welcoming. One of
them I had actually met at the practice on Sunday with the 17-20
year olds, so it was nice to see a familiar face. Both
of the girls will be playing at Winthrop in South Carolina once the
fall rolls around!
Last
night I met with Coach Basilio and one of the girls from Monday to
take some more batting practice at the Home Run
Academy. It was nice to get in some quality cuts, and
with just the two of us hitting we got a lot of swings in in one
hour! We could not book the field, so we took a break
from defense, but today I will be back out there.
Nothing
is scheduled with Coach Basilio today as she will be headed to
Brampton to prepare for the start of camp
tomorrow. Brampton is approximately 45 minutes from
where I am staying. I will be getting out on the
field later today with some of my cousins to get some work in
before the big day.
Thursday check-in starts at 11am. The first session
will be filled with fitness testing and some position
work. I am excited, a bit nervous, but looking
forward to the experience that is fast
approaching!
Thanks
for keeping up!
6/13:
This
blog is the first from Hannah Schwarz throughout the week in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada as she tries out for the Women's Canadian
National Softball Team. If successful, she will get the opportunity
to represent Canada in competitions against other nations from
around the world on the diamond.
In this
blog, Schwarz recaps her first few days in Canada during tryout
week and what she is doing to prepare herself as best she can for
the coming week. Keep up with her journey by returning to www.GoIslanders.com periodically
for updates from her.
Hey
everyone! Just checking in from the Great White North! I arrived
safely into Toronto Pearson International Airport on Saturday
afternoon. We had no delays and little turbulence, so no
complaints here. Five of my cousins were waiting for me after I
easily made it through Customs and baggage claim.
Just a
little insight, my mum is originally from Toronto and is one of
nine brothers and sisters. Every Christmas and summer my family
and I make a vacation trip to visit roughly forty relatives! This
trip is a little different, but Saturday was still filled with
family and relaxation after the day of travel!
Sunday was a different story. I was glad to be in 60 degree
weather as opposed to the Texas heat. Had a full day and barely
broke a sweat! I practiced with a team of 17-20 year olds from
9:00 to 11:30. We then had a lunch break and hit the field once
more for some batting practice.
One of
my cousins plays men's fastpitch softball, so he had one of his
pitchers come out and throw to me. This pitcher actually threw at
the Women's National Team tryout last year. He, of course was not
throwing full force (he has been clocked at 85mph!), but he was
replicating how he through last year at the tryout. His speed was
more around 70mph. I am glad I got to see him and get a little
preview of what is to come at the end of the week.
Tonight I will be meeting with one of the assistant coaches from
the Women's National team, Coach Melissa Basilio, in Ajax,
Ontario. I am staying with family while I am here, and the Home
Run Baseball Academy, where my lesson will be, is approximately 20
minutes away.
I am
looking forward to meeting her and two other girls who will be at
the camp on Thursday. We will be in the cage from 6-7 p.m., and
then until 8:30 p.m. we have the field. It should be an
interesting evening!
Thanks for keeping up and I will keep you all posted!
