Softball Canada recently released the 2019 Men's World Championship roster, and among the 17 athletes is Mitchell native Tyler Pauli.
After learning he made the team, Pauli says it felt incredible to be named among Canada's best in men's softball.
"It's amazing, I'm still kind of going through the motions, and it's hard to believe right now. When I first saw the list come out I started comparing myself and looking at my name next to some of the players that have been around for awhile, and some of the best players not only in the country but the world. It was amazing to see, and I'm still kind of in shock about it."
Pauli is the lone Ontarian on the roster. He and his team will travel to the Czech Republic next June for the World Championships, as Canada comes off a bronze medal in 2017 in Whitehorse. Pauli says he's optimistic Ontario will develop more high end players soon.
"I do think that the future for Ontario fastball is bright. I was just at the Jr. Nationals this year in Quebec, where we won with Owen Sound, and there were a lot of good young Ontario players there. I think the future is bright, and within a few years we'll be back with a lot of players on that roster, I think."
Pauli says getting to play with a veteran-laden squad is an honour, and he started trying to learn from them during this year's summer camps.
"I was just a sponge, because I knew that hopefully my time would be coming, I didn't think it would be this soon, but if my time was ever to come I wanted to know as much as I possibly could about what it took to get to that level. So I was a sponge then, and I'll certainly be a sponge when we go to the Czech Republic next year."
The 2019 Men's World Softball Championship will run June 13th-23rd next summer in the Czech Republic.
