sports@mapleridgenews.com
Two Maple Ridge ball players will travel to the southern United States, after qualifying for a Canada Futures team, which is open to athletes across Canada.
The two athletes, Georgia Wagner-Stiles and Madisyn Simms, are both rep players from the Ridge Meadows Minor Softball Association. They will accompany their team to Georgia, Alabama and Florida, on a tour of junior colleges and NCAA programs. The Canadian team will play 11 games on nine campuses in their whirlwind trip over eight days.
The Canada Futures program, founded and coached by Joni Frei of Coquitlam, is designed to expose elite fastpitch players to the rigour and intensity of collegiate ball. The program allows the girls to get a taste of varsity sports at a highly decorated American fastpitch institution, and exposes them to scouting opportunities.
The team is mostly comprised of B.C. girls, as the team has a rigorous training schedule leading up to their U.S. tour. Training takes place in the Lower Mainland.
Team manager and tour coordinator Angela DeRuiter prepares the girls for the cultural differences of the American south, as well as imparts on them the importance of being an ambassador for Canada and the sport of softball.
The team departs for Atlanta on Oct. 3.
