Nick White has had a past couple years most softball players could only dream of.

The 20-year-old Truro resident was a member of Nova Scotia’s Canada Games team that won silver in Niagara, Ont., in 2022. While attending an Eastern Canadian championship in P.E.I. that year, White was recruited by national team coach Jeff Ellsworth, who also serves as coach of one of the top club teams in the world, the Hill United Chiefs of Ontario.

White has been to nationals at the under-23 level with the Nova Scotia Selects the past two years, finishing fourth in 2023 and third this year, with the speedy outfielder earning a berth on this year’s all-star team. He got his first action with Team Canada at a development camp and tournament in Kelowna, B.C., in May and also suited up for a WBSC World Cup group stage tournament in Prince Albert, Sask., in July.

He capped his second season with Hill United at the International Softball Congress world championship in Surrey, B.C., in August, winning the title, followed by a trip to Saskatoon with the East Hants Mastodons for the national men’s championship.

In his own words, White talks about getting his start in the sport, representing Nova Scotia and gaining valuable experience on the international stage.

Starting out

“I started out playing T-ball with the Belleville Bandits in Ontario. I remember going out on the field and was like, ‘This is crazy. I want to be playing real fastpitch.’ So my parents talked to the organizers and they got me moved up to the next level and it’s just been part of my life since.”

Canada Games

“I was always around the team they had in 2017, and the coach of my team was Jeff Fraser who also coaches the Canada Games team, and he told me to watch these players because this is the type of softball that I should be looking forward to. So I tried to soak up all the knowledge I could and that’s when it hit me that maybe I could go somewhere in the sport.”

Winning silver

“Our coaches, Jeff Fraser and Robin Isenor, really prepared us for that. We practiced and played every chance we could. We got the nervous swings out of our system on the first day and when we beat Ontario for the first time, we realized we had all the right pieces.” 

Team Canada

“Putting that jersey on in Kelowna for the first time was such a special moment, just to have that camaraderie with the other guys and know that we’re all pulling for each other when we’re wearing the Maple Leaf. You really try to appreciate it in the moment because you never know when that might come around again. It was just a great feeling.”