By Melissa Verge
Life or death. Win or lose.
Intense, high stakes situations like these face Alli Schroder daily. If she makes the wrong move at her job as a BC wildfire service crew member, someone’s life or property could be destroyed. If she throws the wrong pitch in the wrong place as a veteran pitcher for Team Canada, the game could be lost.
But these fears are kept at bay when she takes the mound in a big appearance. The 21-year old, who will be a key pitcher on the Women’s National Team roster this year, has plenty of confidence in her abilities. A lot of that stems from her high pressure job. Fighting wildfires helps keep things in perspective for Schroder when she’s at the ballpark.
“I’m having fun and I’m here to compete and I trust my abilities and I’m good to go for it,” Schroder said. “And just knowing I've been in bigger situations than that in real life really helps me stay calm when I'm just in a game.” `
Experience has also helped the right hander get to that good mental headspace on the diamond. She made her first appearance for the Women's National Team as a young 15-year-old playing in a series in Washington, DC against Team USA. Mentally she’s come a long way from those days, she said. She used to have a lot of trouble letting small errors go, and would beat herself up over them, impacting her performance on future plays on the field.
Now entering her seventh year she will be an integral part of the pitching staff for the 2023 season. Her personal growth on the field is not only key to her success but the younger teammates who now look up to her, in a roster that has seen a lot of change with COVID and players retiring in the past few years. Much like she looked up to Ashely Stephenson, Amanda Asay, Kate Psota, and Ella Matteucci (who also grew up in Fruitvale, BC) she’s now a role model to the newer players on the Team Canada squad. She knows there’s a lot of failure in baseball, and she also knows she wants to be a good leader - part of which is showing younger teammates to let errors go and move on to the next play.
Their pitching staff, featuring an experienced Schroder, is going to be a big strength for them when they take the field in Thunder Bay this August for the Women's Baseball World Cup. The team will be led by Anthony Pluta who helped coach the team during a five game friendship series against the U.S. last year. In 2021 he also served as a guest coach with the program at a showcase event in Quebec.
For them to be able to host the World Cup here in Canada is a huge step in helping grow the game across the country, said Baseball Canada CEO Jason Dickson. Group A will be in Thunder Bay from August 8-13th, and includes Canada, Australia, Hong Kong- China, Korea, Mexico and the U.S.
“For people to attend, to see Canadians compete or Team Canada compete on home soil, I think it's really important for the game, it's really important to help us grow the girls side of baseball,” Dickson said. “So we’re very excited, very fortunate to do it and we can't wait to get after that.”
Pluta was an easy choice as manager to lead the squad, Dickson said. He has a relaxed, calm and easy going nature about him that reminds him a lot of Ernie Whitt, longtime men’s team manager, and makes for a great fit for the program.
Pluta, who says he likes to manage players based on their individual needs and personalities, has an impressive resume both on and off the field. He played professionally for 11 seasons after he was drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school. He will be joined on the field by talented former Women’s National Team players Patricia Landry and Kate Psota, as well as Chris Begg. Landry and Psota were valuable members of the team for many years, with Psota winning four medals in six tournaments, and being named team MVP two years in a row in 2009 and 2010. Landry was the first female coach ever with the team, having coached since 2012 after retiring from her playing days. Pitching coach Chris Begg has experience on the men’s side as a player and a coach, playing for the National Team from 2003-2009.
Finding a good pitching coach is always a challenge at all levels, Dickson said, and Begg comes with international experience as well.
“I think he's going to be a good compliment for Anthony to help him on the pitching side, and I think knowing both of them philosophically, they’re on the same lines on how they want to attack hitters and attack lineups and how they want to pitch to people, so I think that's really positive.”
Although the team is spread out across the country, they still try to maintain a team environment for the athletes, Pluta said. Every Sunday they hold a zoom meeting, and they’ll bring in guest speakers to talk to them about how to elevate their performance both on and off the field. One week they had a former MLB strength and conditioning coach talk to the players about recovery and nutrition, and what they should be eating in between competitions.
It’s a busy schedule for the players, juggling careers and baseball and the weekly meetings. Right handed pitcher Mena Florio leaves her job as a chiropractor, often heading straight to Baseline Sports in North York where she trains solo five to six times per week. Florio will be another key piece in the team's pitching success this year. She’s been with the program since 2017, but last year was her first on the 20-man roster.
It’s a love for the game that can be best shown in her dedication - after working an 8-10 hour day she’s headed straight to the training facility to put in the work.
“They’re definitely long days, so it's really just about prioritizing your time and using the time off that you have wisely,” Florio said. “So on my days off I really prioritize my training and my recovery.”
Like Schroder, the stress she faces in her job as a chiropractor helps put things into perspective on the field. Over her years with the program she’s matured and is better able to handle her emotions on the field, wisdom she can now pass on to the younger players on the team. She tries to be a leader off the field as well, giving updates to the players who may have missed the weekly Sunday meetings so they stay in the loop with what’s going on. She’s a listening ear for her teammates, whether that’s as a shoulder to cry on or just someone to bounce ideas off of.
With the turnover they’ve experienced in the past few years, it’s important that they stick together as a team, she said, as losing some of the veteran players is tough.
“I think the older girls are really just trying to lean on each other and help each other so we can help rein in the new generation of baseball players,” she said. “So I guess as one of the older players on the team now, really as a group, we're just trying to keep that family mentality there.”
Right alongside her will be Schroder. The two both have hectic schedules with their careers and training, but the love they share for the game keeps them pushing through the long days and being someone their younger teammates can look up to.
From fighting wildfires, to battling it out on the mound for her team, Schroder has always performed well in those intense situations. She’ll have another opportunity with the World Cup coming up in August in Thunder Bay, alongside teammate Florio.
“I am most looking forward to winning at home, winning in front of a home crowd and bringing a gold medal home to Canada in Canada,” Schroder said. “I think that's going to be super exciting, a lot of girls that are maybe on the bubble, they're on their way out so to be able to finish their careers winning a gold medal in front of a home crowd in Canada is going to be huge.”
