A rising baseball superstar from St. John’s boasts two accolades heading into the upcoming Canada Games in Niagara, Ont. — carries the flag for Newfoundland and Labrador in the opening ceremonies and is the first woman to play on a men’s team at the event. Jaida Lee, 16, is becoming a household name in baseball circles across the province and is no stranger to mixing it up in the boys baseball divisions during her career so far. 2021 marked the only win for the Newfoundland and Labrador U-17 boys baseball team in an Atlantic tournament in Dartmouth, NS. She was the first woman to win this honor. Now he is preparing for the national stage. “I feel like when you’re under pressure it matters more. I’m more focused and zoned in, so I just perform better,” Lee told CBC News on Friday. “It’s exciting. It feels good.” Lee attributes her success thus far to simply playing a lot of baseball. Every summer up until this point she played with several girls and boys teams. “Most people only get about 20 games, but growing up I got about 80 every summer,” he said. “It helps development overall [you get] many more trips.” Lee then hopes to join Canada’s national baseball program – which she already has experience playing with the prospect team – and looks ahead to playing university ball. Jaida Lee of St. John’s is his flagship pic.twitter.com/wlG0z9cPTO —@TCAR_GovNL
Carrying the flag, breaking barriers
Lee couldn’t contain her smile when asked about the honor of being named the province’s flag bearer at the August 6 opening ceremonies. “I was definitely excited. It’s definitely an honor,” he said. Additionally, other young girls from around the country are reaching out to Lee, seeing her as someone who is breaking down barriers for women in the sport. Jaida Lee will compete for the men’s team, becoming the first woman in the event’s history to do so. (Submitted by Amanda Lee) “I’ve had some younger girls from all over Canada text me, especially since the pennant came out, saying they bought tickets to come watch,” she said. “I hope they see what can happen if they try to get better and keep pushing and training.” At home she doesn’t get a second glance from players, coaches or parents when she matches up with boys’ teams, but she said during trips to other provinces it’s something that still happens. “There are definitely some parents who say ‘is that a girl?’ Mostly on the field you don’t hear anything, but when I’m playing you’ll hear in the dugout “is that a girl?” or whatever,” he said. “But when I actually throw the ball — I don’t know if I can say shut up — everybody shuts up.” Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
