When Erin Maitland steps up to the plate at the 1997 Canada Summer Games in Brandon, Man., the opposing team doesn’t know if she’s farm raised or city bred.
And they don’t care.
But the head coach of the Manitoba women’s softball team said it can make a difference.
“We’ve noticed something about the girls we’ve selected from rural Manitoba,” said Carey Lasiuk Aug. 13 when the team had a day off.
“They might not have come to our winter camp with the skills of everybody, but they work harder sometimes than the urban girls and can eventually surpass them over time because of a strong work ethic.”
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Lasiuk isn’t saying rural team members are less skilled than their urban counterparts, but he will say ball players born and raised on the farm know the value of hard work.
“Some of these girls have made it simply because they have outworked other people to get there,” Lasiuk said.
“And any coach will tell you that work ethic is more important than skill and can even overcome a lack of skill somewhere else.”
Big responsibility
It could have something to do with the heavy responsibility that rests on the shoulders of farmers who make their living off the land, he said.
“It’s a risky business and you have to work really hard to make a buck and I respect that.”
The farming lifestyle provides top notch training for athletes determined to win, especially in team sports such as baseball.
Maitland, 18, who plays first base, lives with her family on their mixed grain and cattle farm near Virden in southwestern Manitoba. She said growing up on a farm taught her that hard work pays off.
What skills does she credit to her farm roots?
“My work habit. I’ve learned always to work hard.” The youngest of three girls, Maitland said the family pulls together to make the farm a success.
It’s the same scenario playing on a team with 15 of Manitoba’s top athletes.
“I like the challenge and the team aspect of working with others and having fun.”
Playing competitively with the Brandon Magic for four years, Maitland said she wants to get a job in Virden next year and continue playing ball.
She’s hoping her baseball aspirations don’t tear her away from the peaceful life of living on a farm.
“I love the freedom of just having space, where it’s not too congested or too noisy, at least most of the time.”
More than 4,200 athletes from across Canada have descended on the Wheat City for the 1997 Summer Games, which run from Aug. 9-23.
