Before she discovered the softball diamond, Ceara Barkowsky developed some dazzling footwork in a dance studio.
She learned at a young age how to move to the music of jazz, tap and hip-hop rhythms in dance competitions and by the time she signed up for softball at age 11, she was well on her way to becoming a quality shortstop.
"I danced from the time I was four until I was around 11 and that has helped me a lot - you need a lot of range and you have to be quick out there as a shortstop," said Barkowsky.
Seven years later, Barkowsky is now starting college at Grace University in Omaha, Neb.
She is one of seven players signed up to play for the Royals for the 2016 season, which starts in February. Softball is a new program at Grace and the Royals will play a 60-game schedule in Division 1 of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The team has applied to join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
"I'm just looking forward to the quick pace and the really competitive ball," she said. "I think we're going to do really well."
Practice begins this week for Barkowsky and she says the climate in Omaha usually allows teams to play outdoors until December. The Royals are planning a trip to Arizona for a tournament in March.
Grace University was one of five schools that made Barkowsky scholarship offers after Canada Futures coach Joni Frei suggested she submit an online resume which included some of her game highlights. The 18-year-old Duchess Park secondary school graduate is attending Grace on a scholarship which pays three-quarters of the cost of tuition, housing, food and books. One year of classes at Grace costs about $18,000.
Ceara, the daughter of Lisa and Tony Barkowsky, is studying criminal justice and lives on the Grace campus. Omaha is the capital of Nebraska and with a population of 434,000 it's six times as large as Prince George.
"It's really crazy going from Prince George into a big city. To me it's like a really big eye-opener because I've never lived anywhere else before," she said. "It's so nice though, the buildings in the downtown area, which is really close to the university."
Barkowsky climbed the ranks in the Prince George Girls Softball Association and played on the Thunderbirds peewee, bantam and midget rep teams. Her fielding skills and dependable bat earned her a spot on the Canada Futures squad, a provincial all-star team of 14- to 18-year-olds which went on a tour last October to play teams in Georgia and Alabama.
Barkowsky says she knows of several female softball players talented enough to play college ball who gave up the sport too early, before they had a chance to pursue scholarship opportunities. She's hoping the increasing number of girls wanting to play softball in Prince George will continue to rise and more will find their way to paid college educations.
"These last couple of years have been really good and the association is getting a lot stronger now," said Barkowsky. "I think a lot of (the growth) is our involvement with the younger girls at the camps. Just spreading the interest through the camps really helps. It's such an amazing sport and it's getting better and I think that will appeal to a lot of people.
"You should just follow your dreams. It seems so far-fetched that you could travel this far and get that kind of money for schooling for softball, but if you really love it and you're willing to work hard for it, there's always a chance."
Barkowsky and Paige Meise of Prince George attended a junior national team tryout in Vancouver in June but neither made the cut. Barkowsky wants to one day represent Canada in a tournament and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, if softball gets approved as an Olympic sport, would be the perfect venue.
