Diggers hold “softball explosion” ahead of Pan Am Games

May 28, 2015 · 0 Comments

On May 9, the Aurora Diggers Girls Softball Association hosted an open softball skills clinic for girls of all ages.

This was a special day for many girls as Jenna Caira, co-captain and pitcher for the Canadian National Softball Team, was on hand to help with the day’s events.

Jenna is currently training for the Pan Am Games. Her softball career began at age 4, when she started pitching and it hasn’t stopped.

Jenna was on full scholarship at Syracuse University from 2009-2012 where she was the first pitcher to achieve more than 1,000 strikeouts in the Big East Conference, 1,051 in total. She also held (and still holds) many of the school’s pitching records, ending her university career with an All American title in 2012.

Jenna took time out of her busy schedule to help Todd Martin (Aurora’s own) lead the girls through many fundamental softball skills. Todd also has a pretty impressive resume, including member of Team Canada from 1998-2009, 1999 Pan Am Gold Medalist, ISC Most Valuable Pitcher 3 times and an ISC All World All Star 9 times, to name a few.

The morning focused on fundamentals, throwing, fielding and batting. Jenna took the time to talk to the girls about working hard to achieve your goals. She stressed raw talent is never enough, you need to practice, prioritize and love your game.

Jenna spoke also about the importance of family and having good coaches and mentors.

This is where Todd comes in: he was Jenna’s coach and mentor. As tribute to Todd, Jenna wears number 29, his former number.

After lunch, Jenna took to the mound to demonstrate her 65MPH fastball, and her signature change up. Many of the girls gasped at the speed as it truly was impressive. Most adults looked on, thankful they were not in the batter’s box!

The day ended with practice games with a focus on the skills learned earlier in the day.