Team Canada Eyes Tokyo 2020
/ GPLS.ca | 2:55 P
After a 12-year absence from the Summer Games, the sport of Softball will make its return to the Olympic stage in 2020 when the games are played in Tokyo, Japan.
A controversial decision saw softball removed from the Summer Games after the 2008 tournament, but the International Olympic Committee opted to put the sport back in heading to Tokyo, giving Team Canada a chance to earn an Olympic medal that they have come ever so close before of capturing.
.@Paulbrothers speaks with Softball Canada Coach Mark Smith. https://t.co/2MdhBYbvCV pic.twitter.com/Lrh76YWQ5D
— Global Halifax (@globalhalifax) February 21, 2017
Canada finished fifth in Atlanta in 1996 and again 2004, eighth in 2000 in Sydney, and just missed the podium with a fourth pace finish in 200 in Beijing.
With plenty of parity in international softball, their quest to earn their first medal will be a challenging one; especially against powerhouses from Japan, the United States and Australia, who combined have won 11 of the 12 medals awarded in the sport.
But for Team Canada head coach Mark Smith, having softball back in the Olympics is not only exciting for everyone involved in the sport, but also the new players who will get to experience it for the first time and the older ones who will get another chance to live the moment of competing for their country on the largest stage.
“The Olympics is the largest sporting event in the world and of course there is a huge motivation for athletes to work towards achieving that goal,” said Smith. “For the newer athletes to the team, having never gone to an Olympics, in some sense they didn’t recognize what they were missing out on. But for those who have been, they understood. Having gone to World Championships a number of times and the Pan-Am games, there is no question going to those events is an honour and a privilege to represent your country, but we knew for sure the big prize was to play in the Olympics.”
The Olympics, however, are still three years away, so the focus right now for Team Canada is on the upcoming season, which includes the Pan-Am Games in the Dominican Republic starting in July.
With no change in their focus, Smith said they will -like every year- invite the best softball players in the country to an evaluation camp and, from there, pick the best players to make up the national team and lead Canada into competition, whether that is the Pan-Am Games, or the Olympics in 2020.
“From a preparation standpoint, every time you play in a major international event, you try and put your best foot forward,” said Smith. “There is no question four years out, with the Olympic Games being that target, it heightens everyone’s motivation. It creates a heightened sense of preparation in terms of, now you know what the big prize is and what you could be a part of if you work hard and play well. So, I wouldn’t doubt from an athletes point-of-view that it probably ups the ante a little bit.”
While the decision to continue playing softball beyond 2020 will be a political one based on the location of the yet to be determined games in 2024, Smith said softball has historically been one of the best attended events at previous Summer Games, and with more countries providing stronger competition, it’s not just a three-team race for gold any more.
For now, however, the focus is on the season coming up and the Summer Games in 2020. And while Canada has always walked the thin line between getting on the podium and not, the hope is with the return of softball to the Olympic Games, it will be a chance for Canada to take their place as one of the best countries in the softball world.
“We’ve made some strives,” said Smith. “We’ve brought some consistency to the program. Our coaching staff has done a good job of building a championship culture that is required to be amongst the best in the world. We see evidence that we are doing the right things.”
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