For the P.E.I. softball team, the 2010 Special Olympics National Summer Games was just a prelude to bigger things to come.
That’s because the 15 players and three coaches making up the team will be packing their bags for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
The announcement was made during during a special ceremony Wednesday in Charlottetown that honoured the Island athletes who competed at the National Summer Games in London, Ont.
Thirty athletes from across P.E.I. brought home 20 medals from the National Summer Games, including the softball team which won gold.
This will be the first time P.E.I. will represent Canada at the World Games in softball.
Head coach Richard Douillette said it’s an amazing accomplishment for his team and his players are excited and already preparing for the challenge.
“For little team P.E.I. to be a part of Team Canada, it’s unreal,” Douillette said. “To go to Greece, those guys will be focused. Those guys are amazing.”
Training will start in mid-October and training staff from Team Canada will hold a training camp on the Island from Oct. 29 to 31.
“We’re going to train all winter,” Douillette said.
To get to this point, the team overcame an emotional loss to New Brunswick in its first game at the National Games to post a 4-1 record, the top record among the 12 teams in the tournament.
To lose the first game was tough but Douillette’s team never lost its confidence, which he said shows the mental toughness of his players.
“After we lost the first game, the guys said, ‘Our bad game is behind us,’ and the group came together.”
There are a couple of players who have been to the World Games before and the others have all been to many national competitions so it shouldn’t be too much of an adjustment for them in Athens, Douillette said.
“It’s just a notch a bit higher than where they’ve been before.”
Team captain Blair Burns said it feels great to represent Canada at the World Games, and he expects a good effort from his team.
“As long as we do our best and try.”
The Games are June 25 to July 24 and will include competitions in 22 different sports.
