Next generation of softball stars shine bright at Canada Games
The next generation of Canadian softball got its first taste of the Canada Games in St. John's on Sunday, and players are hoping it could be another step toward something much bigger.
Chloe Bethune, Rylee Ruppel, and Cece Brown — three members of the country's U18 national team — traded in their Team Canada uniforms for the white, blue and yellow of Team B.C. Each played a role in their Canada Games tournament-opening win on Sunday at Legion Field, which ended in a 15-0 victory over Team P.E.I. in a mercy-shortened four innings.
Brown opened the scoring for Team B.C., smacking a long fly ball to left field for a two-RBI triple in the first inning. The 17-year-old from Maple Ridge, B.C., added two more runs on a pair of sacrifice fly balls to finish with four RBIs in the game.
Ruppel started the game at second base but was brought in to pitch the bottom of the fourth inning. The 17-year-old, also of Maple Ridge, B.C., induced three weak groundouts to close the game.
"I think our team came out really hot and confident, and we all played together and just did what we needed to do for our first game," Ruppel said.
Bethune, an 18-year-old from Lindell Beach, B.C., was her team's catcher for all four innings, helping shut out their opponents.
All three players are working their way to joining the Canadian senior national team one day, and said the Canada Games are a good experience on that journey.
"[Making the senior team] is the big goal," Bethune said. "I think it's all of our goals. We really want to represent our country at the biggest stage."
"Representing your province and representing your country is all really special," Brown said. "[The Canada Games are] a pretty different experience, tournament-wise, because we get to meet everyone from B.C. and everyone from other provinces here and we're all together.
"So it's kind of more memorable in that way."
While all three players have travelled internationally with the national team, these Games are special for Bethune.
"All the places that we've been to with the national team [have] been outside of the country. So doing something at home is really cool and a special thing," she said.
Team B.C. coaches Michelle Webster and Kaitlyn Cameron also see the Canada Games as special, because they're also an important stepping stone for their athletes.
"I think it's a good step for them and their careers, getting to play against better competition, getting into provincials, getting to play other provinces. It's a step — even though they've played with the national team before — being in a tournament like this," Cameron said.
"It's hopefully something that's in their future more, and it's a good experience for them."
Webster also sees the format of the Games as something that will help prepare the trio for their future.
"[The] multi-sport Games experience is a different beast, you know, sleeping in accommodations, eating different meals, travel days, all [those] things," she said. "Elite-level athletes are going to manage that time differently, so this is a good experience for them in that realm as well."
Stream live action from the 2025 Canada Games on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem, and the CBC Sports YouTube channel. Check the broadcast schedule for full details.
That future could also include the Olympic Games, as softball is back on the Olympic programme for L.A. 2028. All three athletes say playing at the Olympics is now a personal goal, and Cameron said that having the Olympics back as an attainable goal for young softball players is incredibly positive for the sport.
"It's the pinnacle of our sport. It's what every young softballer dreams of — whether it's in the Olympics or not — that's where you want to end up one day. That's what you want to be," Cameron said. "So to have that goal to be there and to have it be a possibility now is really huge.
"Team Canada players who have played in the Olympics in the past [come] back into our communities, helping out, [and] it really grows our game for the better."
Webster believes that the importance of the sport returning to the Olympics cannot be understated.
"It means everything. It's the world's stage. It's an amazing opportunity for any athlete. Any time they get to represent their country, certainly, is special, but an Olympic Games is just a different level," Webster said.
"The amount of exposure that our game will get and the amount of little girls and little boys that are now dreaming of that platform and that stage is amazing.
"On a stage that size, they can see it. And if you could see it, you could be it.... Hopefully it's something that'll stick and there'll be future opportunities for our softball players as well."
The players all have big dreams, but for now they're content to soak up the experiences that come with the Canada Games, which included marching in the parade of athletes during the opening ceremony and enjoying the hospitality of St. John's.
"There's so many people here and so many fans of sport and it's really cool, because this is such a small place and we're kind of taking over and they're so nice about it," Bethune said. "It's just a really cool thing."
cbc.ca
