Dave Leaderhouse
Daily Herald
Sometimes tough decisions have to be made in life. Prince Albert’s Aidan Patrick recently had to make one of those.
While auditioning for the national under-19 men’s softball team in Kitchener, Ont., Patrick got the news that his uncle Denis Patrick passed away after a courageous struggle with leukemia. The 18-year-old had to make a decision whether to leave the camp and come home or stay and try and secure a spot on the team. He opted for the latter.
“It was hard for me to stay,” Aidan explained recently. “My Dad said you know he would want you to stay so I told Dad I was going to make the team for him.”
That’s exactly what he did.
Patrick was named earlier this week to the Canadian team that will compete at the world under-19 softball championships in Argentina in November. For the third baseman/pitcher, the chance to even be in this position almost never happened.
“I was a late invite to the camp,” says Patrick, who spent this past season playing with the Saskatoon Junior Bullets, a team that represented Saskatchewan at the national championships in Owen Sound, Ont., last month. “I didn’t play the last half of last year because I was thinking more about work. I never really thought about it (national team), but I am probably enjoying softball more now.”
A product of the Astros teams of the Aallcaan Softball Developmental Organization, Patrick will spend the next few weeks working out on his own before the team gets together in the United States for some preparation for the world championship.
From there Patrick plans to continue playing junior ball in Saskatoon for his final two years of eligibility and after that he hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Dad (Brian) played ball in New Zealand so I think I would like to play down there too,” says the younger Patrick who also has aspirations of making the national senior men’s team some day too.
“I’m hoping this puts me on the radar for the national team,” says the soft-spoken Patrick.
The personal loss of his uncle will take time to recover from, but his ball career is taking flight. Hopefully one will offset the other.
