This summer has been pure gold for Squamish鈥檚 Kevin Schellenberg.
He won back-to-back gold medals for Team Canada softball and said it was an honour to win gold at both the ISF World Championships and the Pan-Am Games on Canadian soil.
Schellenberg and his teammates won gold in Saskatoon at the ISF World Championships on July 5 playing in front of thousands and followed that up by triumphing in Toronto at the Pan-Am Games on July 18.
鈥淎t the world championships, you鈥檙e repping your country but it鈥檚 just for softball,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the Pan-Am Games you really feel like you鈥檙e a whole country competing against every other country. We were really treated like celebrities there and it was very positive, especially in the athletes鈥� village.鈥�
Schellenberg didn鈥檛 start in the gold medal game at the Pan-Am Games; he was brought in as a replacement after a teammate got injured. He played stellar defence and was one of only three Canadian players to record a hit in the game.
鈥淚t was so intense,鈥� he said of the gold medal game. 鈥淚 made a diving play to get a defensive assist for the third out of an inning after I got put in, and that really got me into the game. There was no room for error and you had to be mentally sharp for every pitch.鈥�
The game remained scoreless until the sixth inning, when Canada got a two-run home run. Venezuela answered back in the seventh inning to score a run but Canada held on for the win.
鈥淭o win these two gold medals felt like getting a mountain off my back,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had won gold and bronze for Canada at the world championships before but hadn鈥檛 won a gold in 12 years. To win two golds, both on Canadian soil, was so special. Everybody worked so hard for that month and we gelled well and never panicked. It was such a good feeling to be able to contribute, especially in a gold medal game like that.鈥�
He pointed out that the team went a combined 17 wins and only one loss over the two tournaments and said the team bonded well. Schellenberg said a big part of that team chemistry was due to the great work by head coach and former 麻豆社国产resident John Stuart.
鈥淚鈥檝e known John for over 20 years and he was a big factor in our win,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e brought a certain attitude and identity to the team that we didn鈥檛 have before, everyone bought into his philosophy and it made us a much more confident team.
He put the best players on the field and managed it all. Everything he did worked for us, I鈥檝e got nothing but respect for John.鈥�
He said it was a thrill to play in front of 8,000 fans in Saskatoon but was also humbled to meet childhood heroes Larry Walker and Carlos Delgado at the Pan-Am Games.
The 34-year-old said he hasn鈥檛 hung up the cleats yet and is pondering a return to the red and white for the 2017 ISF World Championships.
鈥淚鈥檓 still on a high and not ready to retire yet, but it will be hard physically to come back for 2017,鈥� he said.
Schellenberg also suited up at the first ever Celebrity Softball Classic at Nat Bailey Stadium in Vancouver on Wednesday (Aug. 12). Organized by current Montreal Canadien and former Vancouver Giant Brendan Gallagher, the game raises money for the Shriners Hospital for Children Canada and features some NHL players and other stars.
