WAVERLEY: A young baseball player from Waverley has made Baseball Nova Scotia history.
Julia Konigshofer was recently announced as making the final roster for the U-15 Baseball Nova Scotia boys’ team for the upcoming summer season. It’s believed to be the first time a girl has ever made the boys roster at the U-15 level.
Konigshofer, who came to N.S. three years ago from London, Ont. to attend Newbridge Academy, said she worked hard during the off-season focused on this year and making the team.
“It’s a really big accomplishment for me,” she said. “Going into tryouts my goal was to make the core team which is made up of 30 players from across the province.
“As soon as I made the core team, I knew I had what it took to make the final 15 player roster, and I did.”
The 15-year-old, who is a Lockview High student, said her dad, Mike gave her a call while he was at work to check her email. Mike was brought on as a coach of the team after the selections were made.
“I opened my computer to the Baseball N.S. website and screamed at my mom ‘I made it! I made it,’” said Konigshofer. “I was really excited.”
She said it was so cool to see. She didn’t underestimate how tough a decision it may have been for the coaches to place a girl on the boy’s team.
“That hasn’t happened in any of the boys’ programs for N.S., so it may have been a tough choice for them,” she said.
Konigshofer played on the U16 girls’ team in Ontario for two years when she lived there, before moving to N.S. to attend Newbridge. She played U16 in N.S. for two years and then wanted a new challenge, so tried out for the U15 boys’ team.
She said her U15 teammates have been nothing but accepting.
“All the boys are super nice and treat me like I’m one of the guys,” said Konigshofer. “There’s more curiosity than anything. Many have heard about me. I’m just another athlete to them.”
Konigshofer said making the team shows all her hard work is paying off. Her goal is to make the Canadian National team.
“It’s the hardest team I’ve ever made and probably the best team I’ve ever made,” said the pitcher/middle infielder, who is also a member of the N.S. Senior Women’s team. “I’m really excited to play with them this year.”
She talked a bit about being a member of the senior women’s team.
“It will be another team that will allow me to be seen more by Team Canada,” she said. “There’s a lot of good girls on that team.”
Konigshofer thanked her parents for their commitment to furthering her journey by selling their house in Ontario and moving to Waverley and finding new employment. Mike has opened, with a business partner, One Last Rep Sports Training in Dartmouth. The family moved to Waverley in 2019; Julia came to N.S. in 2018.
She also thanked Cory Boutilier with One Last Rep Sports Training; and Ian Rowan-Legge from Atlantic Sports Performance for their help in getting her ready.
The U15 boys’ team will play in the Midget AAA division of the Bluenose League, and at Atlantic’s this summer. The team has already played a double-header against East Hants at the Enfield Legion where she pitched an inning and struck out two. She also went two-for-five at the plate.
She thinks the community will support her as word gets out of her accomplishment.
“It’s big for the community and the province,” said proud dad Mike. “I think she’s also the first girl in Canada to ever make a U15 boys’ team as well.”
Konigshofer is very humbled about what she has done by breaking down a barrier.
“It doesn’t really feel all that different to me,” she said. “I don’t feel like I stand out that much to people. To me I feel like I’m just another athlete.”
