The dream of wearing the national colors will soon become a reality for two Okotoks students.

Kate Groeneveld and Erika Finney, both 17, and the Southern Alberta Revolution team will compete in the Senior League Softball World Series in Delaware from July 29 to August 4. They will play as title holders from the Canada region and will be looking to make an impression on the international stage.

“It’s really cool, how professional it is and having Canada written all over your jersey,” said Finney, a Foothills Composite student. “And just representing the whole country in this is really cool.

“I don’t think it will sink in until I actually play the diamonds.”

The tournament will feature ten teams, with six regional U.S. teams, along with international representatives from Canada and the Asia-Pacific, Europe-Africa and Latin America regions.

“We’ve definitely seen some American teams, but we’ve never seen a team from outside North America,” said Groeneveld, a student at Holy Trinity Academy. “We’re all in the same hotel and we’ve met a lot of girls, but it’s going to be interesting.

“I think we’ll see some other styles of softball that we don’t see in Canada.”

The Calgary revolution has been a revelation in diamonds lately.

The team won first place at a tournament in Ontario and went on to win provincial and national championships, and secured a spot at the world level.

“We haven’t lost a game in a while,” Groeneveld said. “So I think there’s just a lot of confidence and energy.”

During the Canadian finals in the Montreal area last week, the Revolution recorded three convincing victories by a combined margin of 43-6.

Groeneveld said she had a batting slump and had three RBIs and two runs in the national final, and was named player of the game in the 14-4 win over the host country.

“That was an exciting game,” she said. “We had a lot of momentum as a team and had some nice batting rounds.”

Groeneveld began her journey in sports with the Okotoks Outlaws. She then joined the Foothills Fury, where she served as a volunteer coach, and moved on to the Adrenaline and Revolution programs.

Finney also played in the programs Outlaws and Fury and discovered the possibilities in the city for the Adrenaline program through the Groenevelds.

Groeneveld and Finney are both in their first season with the Revolution program.

“It was pretty exciting,” Groeneveld said. “I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s a pretty cool opportunity to represent Canada and wear a Canada jersey.

“We just have a lot of momentum right now. A lot of us have been playing together for a number of years and we just have a good bond, good energy and come out strong.”

At the end of the season, the athletes then had to audition for the YYC team that would be placed in Little League competitions. Ultimately, seven Revolution players made the cut, with the rest being athletes from other Calgary teams.

“It’s our team of the season, more than anything,” Finney said. “So we’re really close and know how each other plays.”

Finney, who primarily plays first base and the middle of the lineup, said there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to the league.

“It’s going to be a high level ball, everyone is going to be good here,” she said. “So we just have to do our best and we have to be good.”

The local duo brings multi-sport athletic skills to the field: Finney is a U18 AAA goalkeeper for the Rocky Mountain Raiders and Groeneveld is part of HTA’s volleyball and track and field programs.

“I feel really fortunate to be on this team,” Finney said. “And since I’m in my last few years of baseball, this experience allows me to capture all of my memories and put them together.”

Canada opens the tournament on July 29 against the US Southeast region.

The Revolution will be broadcast via ESPN+ streaming matches from Delaware.

For information about the program and visits, click here.