P.E.I. baseball player Tessa Hood suits up for Team Canada in Cuba

Charlottetown teenager Tessa Hood got a chance to wear the colours of Team Canada for the first time after being invited to a Baseball Canada development camp in Havana, Cuba.

'Just wearing the colours, you feel so much a part of Canada'

Nancy Russell CBC News Posted: Mar 08, 2016 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 8, 2016

P.E.I.'s Tessa Hood spent a week in Cuba as part of Baseball Canada's Girls Development Camp. (Lydia Hood)

Charlottetown teenager Tessa Hood got a chance to wear the colours of Team Canada for the first time after being invited to a Baseball Canada camp in Havana, Cuba.

"Just wearing thecolours, you feel so much a part of Canada," said Hood, who is 16-years-old. "To go down to Cuba and play with those colours on, you're like I hope I get on that team, I hope I can be with them one day." exclaimed Hood.

Like a scouting camp

The Canadians were divided into two teams, as were the Cuban players who were all vying for a spot on the Cuban Women's National Team.

"It's kind of like a scouting camp," explained Hood. "They watch you and they see where you fit in if they need players to call up to another Team Canada team, like the U18 team."

Tessa Hood hopes her time at the development camp will lead to more opportunities with Team Canada. (Lydia Hood)

"The girls from Canada, they're all really dedicated and they are just as good as any of the boys which I found awesome," exclaimed Hood.

The players at the camp ranged in age from 13 to 18.

"On the first day, they went over the small details that you might not go over when you're already in baseball," said Hood. "We went over stealing and sliding, just like the 'smarts' of baseball."

"They always made sure that I knew if I was doing something wrong which I like," said Hood. "I like the feedback."

Cuban players 'great competition'

This is the seventh year for the Girls Baseball Development Camp in Cuba.

"They were really great competition," observed Hood of the Cuban players, some of whom attend special sports schools.

"They didn't try to hit big home runs," she explained. "They were all about small ball, getting the ball on the ground, stealing bases."

"They weren't chirping you on the field," laughed Hood. "They were congratulating you if you did something well too."

The players got a chance to visit an orphanage in Cuba and brought gifts for the children. (Lydia Hood)

There was also a cultural side to the trip. The Canadian players made several visits to a nearby orphanage and brought gifts for the Cuban children.

Growing the game of girls baseball

There are no girls baseball teams on P.E.I., so Hood usually plays for a boys team.

In 2015, she was part of the Charlottetown Bantam "AAA" Royals club that won a bronze medal at the 2015 Baseball Canada National 15U Championships in Vaughan, Ontario. It was a historic victory, Prince Edward Island's first medal at a national championship since 1977. Hood also played for Team Newfoundland and Labrador at the 2015 Baseball Canada National 16U Girls Championships.

Tessa Hood says she'd like to see the popularity of girls baseball grow on P.E.I. to the point where there is a team she can play for. Another P.E.I. player, Mackenzie Pinet, also attended the Development Camp in Cuba. Hood and Pinet will be guest instructors at an upcoming P.E.I. Girls Try Baseball Clinic at Westisle High School in April.

"I think the opportunity to go away is also great because you make all these new friends from across Canada that are also interested in baseball and want to pursue the same dreams as you," said Hood.

The Canadian players were divided into two teams, and played against two different Cuban squads. (Lydia Hood)

Advice and a nickname

This season, Hood will play for the bantam boys Royals team, as well as Team Newfoundland and Labrador again at the U16 and U21 national girls championships.

Hood now has a nickname when she travels off-Island to play. Her team-mates from away call her "Tater".

And she has some advice from her Team Canada coaches: "The last thing one of my coaches said to me was to keep practicing and smile while you bat."

Tessa Hood played centrefield in Cuba. (Lydia Hood)

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External Links

Baseball Canada release on Girls Development Camp 2016

Baseball PEI Girls Try Baseball Clinic