by Gabrielle Drapeau and Christen Ferrer

Elle Gould grew up on the ballfield. As a young child, she recalls watching her dad, cousins, aunts and uncles playing softball at Apamuek Ballfield on Shore Road in Eskasoni, a Mi’kmaw community in Unama’ki (Cape Breton).

The wide open, dirt field is in the middle of the community, only minutes away from Elle’s house.

Now, at 17, Elle is preparing on that same field for the 10th North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), taking place this July in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) and Millbrook First Nation.

“I’m nervous, but I’m excited at the same time,” she says. “I’m excited to meet all these new people, play against new people, see how they play softball up in different places in Canada. This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Elle is one of 5,000 young athletes from over 750 nations across Turtle Island (North America) who will compete at NAIG 2023. Athletes between 13 and 19 years old will compete across 16 sports. Elle will pitch for Team Nova Scotia’s female softball team.

“You need a strong mentality. It’s very hard to be a pitcher, I find it’s hard on the mind, because the game doesn’t start until you throw the ball,” Elle says.

Elle has been training for NAIG for a long time – she was supposed to go in 2020, when the games were cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
“That just gave me motivation to train harder for the next one,” Elle says.

Elle has played on several softball ...

 

Tags: 10th North American Indigenous Games, Apamuek Ballfield, ballfield, Elle Gould, NAIG, Unama'ki