Samantha Middleton

Little bit of history associated with myself. I have been playing competitive sports since I was 8 years old. Starting with soccer and then moving to fastball at 12 years old. I played travel fastball from 12 years old until 17 years old when I graduated high school and stopped playing altogether when I went to Brock University. During my tenure as a high school student I played competitively on almost every team my high school had to offer including: soccer, hockey, basketball, badminton, volleyball, track and field, wrestling, slo-pitch and powerlifting. I won awards in every sport I played in during this time. I also played hockey for my local town league both men’s and ladies teams.

I grew up in a family that encouraged sports and athletic ability. My dad played NCAA football for the University of Toledo and my mom was a track star in high school. Growing up in the country my dad always played catch with me and would show me how to play baseball in the field. He played hardball growing up in Mississauga and I wanted to learn how to get better and play like the guys. Growing up I always wanted to play aggressively like the guys did. I was always stronger than most girls (and a lot of guys) growing up and I used that strength to my advantage.

I started back into slo-pitch after university when I played in a work tournament and players on my team asked me to play in their weekend recreational league in Allanburg. I played two seasons there before being recruited for a more competitive ladies league in St. Catharines. From there I was recruited for Super Series which is the top level slo-pitch in Ontario. I started playing with the Angels in 2018. In 2019 we went to the Canadian championships in Moncton, New Brunswick where we finished 8thoverall. In 2022 (first Canadian championships after COVID) we won Bronze in Surrey, BC. When we came into this season we had a goal in mind to upgrade our bronze to at least silver. We had a great season and we ended up winning gold in the Canadian Championships in Dorchester, Ontario.

The reason I started going to NOI after the 2022 season for my shoulder issues. I have had a nagging shoulder injury from hockey almost 10 years ago. Taskeen worked with me during the off season to fix my shoulder issues and get me back throwing the way I used to. Through this current season I have been dealing with some nagging hamstring issues and after the Canadian championships I had a sore left knee and tight quad as well as a pulled hamstring and a pulled right groin. I figured out through my apple watch app that I ran about 165000 steps and 121km in 7 days, 15 games through those 7 days for this years gold medal. So, Taskeen has quite the task ahead of her to get me back in playing shape again.