October 25, 2017

Mia Valcke signs letter of intent with UBC

Centre fielder plans to study Kinesiology

Vancouver - Gord Collings, the head coach of the University of British Columbia softball team, just doubled the Ontario content on his team, as St. Marys resident Mia Valcke signed a letter of intent on Tuesday to begin school in September 2018, joining Windsor's MacKenzie Siddall on the Thunderbirds player roster.

Valcke, currently attending 12th grade and starring in basketball and volleyball at Stratford St. Michael Catholic Secondary School, plans to study Kinesiology while playing centre field on a scholarship at UBC.

This past summer, Valcke batted .492 and had an OPS of 1.269 for the Waterloo Ghosts Midget team, who won their second consecutive provincial title, and finished fourth at the National Championships in Lloydminster, Ata. The 5'10" right-hander won the batting title at the provincial championships, and led her team in OPS at nationals.

The 17-year-old also received an invitation to the Final-32 Tryout Camp for Team Canada's U20 national team, which took place in Surrey, British Columbia, and was where Collings saw her play for the first time. Valcke also plays boys' baseball with the Stratford Midget team, and is hoping to make the Team Canada Women's baseball national team for the second time, who will play in the 2018 World Cup in Florida next August.

In June of 2016, Valcke was selected to Team Canada baseball's U20 girls national team, and batted lead-off as they won gold at the International Cup in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She was then named to the Team Canada Women's baseball team that August, who won Silver at the 2016 World Cup in Gijang, South Korea. Valcke, the second youngest player on the squad, appeared in seven out of their nine games, batting .428 overall. Due to conflicts with softball in 2017, Valcke was unable to play for Team Canada's women's baseball program.

"We are very excited that Mia has chosen to attend UBC and play softball for the Thunderbirds," said Collings from his office in Vancouver.

"She is a very talented athlete and has had the opportunity to compete at a very high level both nationally and internationally. Those experiences will definitely help her make the transition to college softball and we look forward to her competing for a starting position on our 2019 roster."

A big bonus in Valcke joining the Thunderbird family is the fact that her brother, Jaxon, plays baseball for UBC on a scholarship, and is currently in his second year at the Sauder School of Business. Also, her cousin, Kevin Valcke, is an athletic therapist with UBC's basketball team.

"Vancouver is a big city and it is a long way from home for sure, and having Jax and Kevin there can only help my transition," said Valcke.

"I'm really keen on becoming the first female to play for both Canada's softball and baseball national teams, and another goal of mine is to someday play softball in the Olympics. It wasn't easy giving up hockey, but I think by continuing to narrow down the multiple sports I love to play to mainly focus on softball at UBC will help me reach those goals, and more importantly, get me a degree that I will be proud of in four years."