At the Western Canada Pee Wee Girls baseball championship in Dauphin, Man., 12-year-old Brynlee Rice will roam a field occupied entirely by girls just like her.
Currently a first-year player on the Olds Spitfires' peewee AA team, Brynlee was selected to represent Team Alberta at the tournament, to take place from Aug. 12-14. By making the team, she's considered one of the 13 best female baseball players in the province aged 14 and under.
"She's a hard-working, dedicated kid. If she puts her mind to something, she usually achieves it. She always strives to do better in anything she does, whether it's academics or sports or anything," says her mother Jody, also Olds Minor Baseball's scheduler and umpire coordinator.
"She doesn't have the attitude that she's the best. She knows there's always something she can learn. If she strikes out, her next at-bat, she puts that passion into figuring out what she needs to do differently. She's always asking questions, trying to better herself all the time."
It was her positive attitude that Team Alberta coach Will Downs noticed at the ID camp, in addition to Brynlee's ability as a middle infielder.
"You really want to deal with coachable athletes and players that are easy to work with. I see that she's very coachable and just based on my conversations and interactions with her, I'm very pleased with her positive demeanor," Downs says.
Brynlee started playing T-ball when she was five years old, picking the game up from her family. She learned hitting from dad; fielding from mom. Her younger sister currently plays softball.
At one time, Brynlee was also a softball player but switched to baseball, saying it was more competitive and challenging to her. She was well-prepared for the transition, now having attended the Blue Jays Baseball Academy in Okotoks for four straight years, learning from former pros Devon White, Jesse Barfield and Roberto Alomar.
Being a girl on a team made up of mostly boys has rarely been an issue for her. Brynlee says she was the target of a few gender-based taunts from opponents – but never her teammates – in her first year of mosquito ball. However, she doesn't hear them anymore.
"Some people think girls aren't good enough but then you can show that you can play," she says. "I get a lot of respect and I like that."
It's a different game today, with Baseball Alberta spinning that age-old sexist insult into a marketing slogan for its female program: "You wish you could throw like a girl."
"It's to change those words around into a positive sense. A lot of these athletes are stronger players on their clubs," Downs says.
With Team Alberta, it will be a chance for Brynlee to play with other girls who play the game competitively, tried out and made the team.
"It was really meaningful for her to see that it's not just a boys' sport anymore," Jody says.
No, it's not. Brynlee is just one of two girls on her Spitfires team. Greg Grover, president of Olds Minor Baseball counts about 12 girls who play T-ball and rookie ball.
"There's no difference in the athletes, that's for sure. I think the girls are just as strong as the boys, especially at the younger ages," he says.
Right now, there aren't any girls playing bantam or midget ball but Brynlee could change that in the future. She wants to play the game for as long as she can and already wants to earn a collegiate scholarship.
The development structure is there for her to continue. Baseball Alberta assembles teams for peewee girls all the way up to senior women for the Western Regional and Baseball Canada National Championships.
"When I was a player, there were only one or two girls. That was 20 years ago," Downs says. "We have to go out and watch tournaments and make sure we give these female athletes a chance, to let them be aware of these opportunities."
"She's a hard-working, dedicated kid. If she puts her mind to something, she usually achieves it. She always strives to do better in anything she does, whether it's academics or sports or anything." JODY RICE, Brynlee's mother
