The future of baseball – it’s female.
The popularity of baseball among females is vastly growing, and USA Baseball’s Women’s National Open is helping to prove that point, as it is providing a unique opportunity for girls and women from around the country to gather this week and compete for a spot on the prestigious 2022 Women’s National Team.
For three players – Nadia Chernich, Athena Clendaniel, and Virginia Parr – they have traveled more than 3,000 miles from Alaska to be amongst some of the top female baseball players in the United States.
Chernich (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Clendaniel (Anchorage, Alaska) have both been involved in various joint USA Baseball and MLB events in the past but are taking part in their first USA Baseball-sanctioned event this week in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“It’s been nice seeing some of the older women here that I've kind of looked up to growing up,” said Clendaniel. “I saw them play when I was younger, and now those are players I'm seeing here. I’m getting the chance to play with and against some of them this week, which is pretty cool.”
For Parr (Fairbanks, Alaska), this is her second time competing at the Women’s National Open as she traveled to the National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, in 2018. Knowing what the event entailed, she was eagerly waiting for the chance to return after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
“It is definitely an awesome experience,” said Parr. “When I was younger this was not really a thing, but I always wanted there to be something like it. Even to see the talent and how much it has grown since I was at this event four years ago, it’s crazy. I want this to continue so that maybe one day there can be a major league for women.”
For many of the players at this week’s Women’s National Open, this is the first time they have been surrounded by so many other females who share the same passion of baseball. Almost all 58 competitors have been limited to playing on male travel ball teams or their respective boy’s high school teams.
“In the Fairbanks area, there aren’t any baseball teams for females that I know of,” explained Parr. “I know there are men's leagues and they're open to women playing, and there is the occasional girl or two playing, especially through high school.”
Not only is the Women’s National Open a chance for girls and women to be amongst others who all share a common interest, but it is also an opportunity to learn from a coaching staff that has a wealth of experience and success at the professional level.
“It's just mind blowing to me that this is my life right now,” said Chernich. “I am around the best women in sports this week, in my opinion, that I will probably ever see. I am so blessed to be here after traveling from so far away. It’s been surreal for me.”
No matter the outcome of the Women’s National Open, these players see the event serving a higher purpose for developing skills and advancing their careers.
“Obviously, the goal is to make the team and go play in Canada, but what I'm really focusing on and trying to take away from these couple of days is just learning from and playing with and against some of the top women in the country,” said Clendaniel.
Unknowingly, the 58 players that are in attendance this week are helping to trailblaze the way for the future of women’s baseball. The sport has made tremendous strides in even just the last five years, and the future is bright for girls and women all over.
“I see this event as a way to set women up for the future because if this is what it’s like for me now, I can’t wait to see what the sport will look like years from now,” said Chernich. “The fact that this exists in my life is incredible because I remember a couple of years ago that this was not a thing. Back then I thought to myself that it could be a thing and now it is, so if this is what it’s like now, the future should be absolutely amazing.”
