The 15-year-old Corner Brook native, also an elite female hockey player in the province, spent a week honing her baseball skills in Cuba at a Team Canada female baseball development camp. She was one of 24 budding players from coast to coast to participate.
Childs was the lone Newfoundlander chosen to represent her province in a venture used to get a better sense of the female baseball talent in Canada.
“It was the best experience of my life,” Childs said earlier this week.
Earlier this year, Childs was among the winners of the inaugural Champions Fund for breaking barriers for women in sport. The Champions Fund, an extension of Fuelling Women Champions, was aimed at ensuring Canadian girls and women realize the universal benefits of sport.
She received a $5,000 grant as a winner of the Champions Fund and this cash was used to cover her travel costs with Team Canada to Cuba.
It was a daily diet of practices and games for the entire week with the Cuban female national team proving to be a tough test of Canada’s mettle on the diamond.
Childs enjoyed meeting other female players who shared her passion for the game and was impressed with the calibre of baseball played in that country.
She figures she held her own in many respects, but she found out there is certainly room for improvement when it comes to making contact with the baseball on a consistent basis.
“Oh, yeah, there’s some crazy hitters down there,” she said.
Childs found out about the venture to Cuba while attending a national female baseball tournament in Ontario last summer. She put her name in the ring and was happy to be picked for the trip.
She’s looking forward to getting the bat going early in the season with hopes of being a better player than she was last year.
She’s found her comfort zone on the baseball diamond so she’s willing to see where it all takes her down the road.
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