The news is still sinking in for a Burlington, Ont., teacher tapped by the Toronto Blue Jays to join the coaching staff of its High-A affiliate Vancouver Canadians.
Baseball isn’t a pastime for Ashley Stephenson. It’s a passion, and one that began when she was pint-sized, growing up in southern Ontario.
The six-time Women’s Baseball World Cup medallist remembers vividly the call that changed everything. She was on the phone with Jays assistant general manager Joe Sheehan, who offered her the immense opportunity, making her the second female coach in franchise history.
“I actually said today as I was walking out to shag some balls at BP, ‘I can’t believe I’m being paid to do this’ under my breath,” she told Global News from Dunedin, Fla., the team’s spring training home base.
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Stephenson, who’s been a teacher for almost 20 years, is currently on leave from Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School.
“I’ve done my best to really create great relationships with people there, and I’m fond of all the relationships that I have. There’s a lot of really important people in my life who work there,” she said.
A longtime player and coach with the Canadian national women’s team, she grew up in Mississauga. She got her first taste of the game playing T-ball, and took to it quickly.
Stephenson, looking back on playing catch with her parents and neighbours, credits the crescent she grew up on with helping nurture the joy she felt for the game.
“My mom used to wax the floor in our family room and I used the radiator as a base,” she said, remembering what it was like watching major league games on television.
“As the players would dive back to first base, I’d dive back to the radiator. I just watched and loved every part of it.”
Coach Stevie, as she’s known to students at her school, isn’t just an ace ball player. She also played professional hockey.
For the students and staff at Dr. Frank J. Hayden Secondary School, she’s left an indelible mark on their roster.
“I think it’s pretty important for all young female athletes just to have someone that they can look up to and someone that you know personally and see like that,” said Avery Muhn, a Grade 12 student and athlete.
“It’s really something that you can accomplish if you work hard enough for it.”