Members of the Victoria Fastball Club (VFC) gathered at Helmcken Field last week.
The newest addition to the Devils family, the 2007 Devils team, were introduced first, all the way up to the U19 ‘01 and ‘00 Devils teams.
Robin Carey, who died from a fatal case of strep throat on March 23, was honoured at the event and her parents accepted a plaque with her home and away jerseys to commemorate their daughter.
Luc Fournier, head coach for the ‘04 Devils and Carey’s coach, gave a speech remembering Carey as a fierce competitor, and also a teammate who made sure everyone was included and would volunteer her time for the Challenger Baseball Program – a program for children with cognitive or physical disabilities to play baseball.
Fournier was emotional when sharing that Carey would get her parents to drive her to Hampton ballpark every Saturday to help the Challenger group.
“The side that I’d like to share with you guys, the soft and compassionate side,” he said. “She was a great teammate, often, on road trips, if a teammate was getting left out Robin was the first one there to make sure everybody was included. At Hampton little league, Robin volunteered with the Challenger group … to be a buddy and help with the Challenger group, that’s just the kind of person Robin was, an excellent teammate, and she’ll be forever a 2004 Victoria Devil.”
A few of Carey’s teammates hugged each other and brushed away tears while Fournier recounted the kind of teammate she was. The team joined Carey’s parents near the mound when they accepted the memorabilia for their daughter and had a group hug. The ‘04 Devils put their hands on the diamond and gave a cheer for Robin once the ceremony was over.
The two U19 Devils teams played against each other to culminate the event, and all the players wore the number 20 (Carey’s number) on the back of their uniforms, with the phrase “we are because she was.”
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lindsey.horsting@goldstream