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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 20:21:03
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Heidi Northcott wasn’t born with a glove on her hand. Once she was old enough to walk, however, it was as though her right hand was a magnet for the leather. It’s just something that comes with the family.
Northcott, a Grade 10 student at Vauxhall High, has been playing baseball since she was six years old. It’s not as though she had a choice, either.
Growing up in a family where baseball rules, Northcott welcomed the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of her dad and two older brothers.
“I’ve learned everything from them,” Northcott said Saturday morning after her game versus Medicine Hat High in the Western Canadian Collegiate Showcase high school tournament being played at Henderson Stadium.
“They’ve taught me everything I know. We’re always talking about baseball. I fell in love with the game right away.”
And why not?
Her dad, Harold, is the provincial head coach for the Alberta Amateur Baseball Council, while her oldest brother, Dustin is in his third year of college baseball at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. He is expected to play his second year with the Lethbridge Bulls this summer. Her other brother, Chad, is an infielder with the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball and with the Lethbridge Spitz Elks.
“You can definitely tell she’s had the coaching and comes from a family that knows the game,” noted Vauxhall High coach Rob Virginillo. “She knows what do on the diamond and where she needs to be to make the play.”
In her only at-bat during Saturday’s game, Northcott perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt down the first baseline which advanced the runner to second base.
“She understands situations and what needs to be done,” Virginillo said. “She knows when she needs to lay down a bunt; she knows when to cut off a throw, things like that. I don’t have to worry about her not knowing what to do.”
The family is originally from Rocky Mountain House, but made the move to Lethbridge last summer when Harold earned the job at the AABC which operates out of Henderson Stadium.
Heidi said she grew up as a pitcher and that her dad constructed a pitching mound for her and Dustin, also a pitcher, in the backyard. She has pitched for Team Alberta’s bantam girls team for the last five years and celebrated a national championship with the club three years ago.
Virginillo noted Heidi, listed at around the five-foot-six range, doesn’t have a problem playing the infield, but it’s her bat that sometimes struggles at the high school level, especially against boys bigger and stronger than her.
“She can make contact but the strength isn’t quite there yet,” Virginillo said. “She’s facing guys at this level who are stronger than what she’s probably used to. But she has a nice swing and has no problem making contact.”
Her long, blonde ponytail that dangles halfway down the back of her jersey obviously sticks out in the male-dominated game and often stops fans in their tracks. The only girl playing in this weekend’s tournament certainly garners attention from her male peers.
For the short time she’s spent at Vauxhall High, Heidi Northcott hasn’t had a problem meeting new friends and making a name for herself — all thanks to baseball.
“For being a first-year student at the school, she fits in really well,” Virginillo said. “The guys respect her for her ability and she’s made a lot of friends. They all know she can play baseball, that’s for sure.”
© Copyright by Lethbridge Herald.com
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