REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN—A Regina, Saskatchewan girl who was named to the Team Canada World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U15 roster for the Pan American Championship taking place in Acapulco, Mexico this week has strong family ties to Manitoulin Island.
Fifteen-year-old Kenzie Newman is one of 16 players from across Canada who will be wearing the maple leaf. “Kenzie took part in an identification camp in December in Saskatoon, one of many that took place across Canada,” said her mother Carrie (Wilkin) Newman. “There were over 500 players who tried out with the top 16 players making the team.”
“We were not sure she was going to make it,” said Carrie. “But the coaches saw something in her and felt that she can contribute to the team. She has natural talent, but she has also worked very hard to build on it.”
Carrie Newman noted that her father David is originally from Manitoulin Island (mother Susan), “and all his brothers still live on the Island. I am originally from Lindsay, Ontario. Kenzie the great granddaughter of the late Marjorie and John Wilkin.
“Kenzie really wants to play professional softball in the future,” said Carrie. “She started playing softball when she was five and has been pitching since she was eight years old.” Kenzie is a Grade 9 student at Martin Collegiate, a softball academy in Regina. She plays on the 222’s winter travel team “Saskpitch” and travels to the US to play.
“When Kenzie isn’t pitching she usually plays second or first base,” said Carrie. By the time she turned 10 years of age, she had progressed to the point where she was moved up an age group.
“I got moved up a year early and I was like, this is just what I ant to do with my life; it makes me so happy” Kenzie told the Regina Leader-Post. “Moving up the year was struggling for me, so that kind of set me back, but it also pushed me in the best way to where I could believe that I could do anything.”
Kenzie’s goal is to one day earn a scholarship with an NCAA Division one school program, said Carrie. Her daughter can begin fielding NCAA offers in Grade 11, but currently she has her sights set on performing well for Team Canada, which is sending a team to the Pan-American championship for the first time.
Kenzie told the Regina Leader-Post March 18 making Team Canada, “Was like a dream come true, honestly. I didn’t think that it could happen, but all the hard work that I put in paid off. It was the most surreal feeling because I’ve been working for so long.”
“I was at a ringette tournament in Manitoba, and we just got out of one of our fun activities,” Kenzie said in telling the story of being informed she had made the Team Canada roster. She got to the car, “and then my mom kept staring at me, and I was like, ‘Why are you staring at me?’ and she’s like ‘I have something to show you.’ Then she showed me the email, and it was so surreal. I was just so stunned. I didn’t now what to do or what to say.”
“The Team Canada coaches have advised Kenzie that she was selected to pitch, and play first base,” said Carrie, who noted that she and her husband Scott and oldest daughter Marika “are Kenzie’s biggest fans.”
At the announcement of the U15 Women’s National team, Kaleigh Rafter, head coach of the Women’s National Team said in a release, “this is an exciting time for our program. These athletes have demonstrated exceptional skills, dedication, and passion for the sport. We are proud to have them represent Canada on the international stage and look forward to seeing them thrive in Acapulco.”
Canada a will be in Group B alongside Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico, and host Mexico. Group A features Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Venezuela, and the defending champion United States.
The top four teams at the event will earn a spot at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U15 Womens Softball World Cup in Italy from June 27 to July 5.
The Pan American Championship starts this Saturday (March 22 and continues until March 29), with the round robin, followed by the super round, and then division finals.
