By Brendan Pawliw, MY PG NOW
One of the best athletes to ever come out of Prince George has left us far too soon.
Tributes continue to come in for Amanda Asay who passed away during a tragic skiing accident in Nelson on Friday at the age of 33.
She was the longest-serving member of Baseball Canada’s Women’s National Team program, (16 years) most notably as a dominant pitcher and first baseman.
Jim Swanson was the Sports Editor at the Prince George Citizen from 1997-2014 who says Asay’s success on the baseball diamond was something to behold – even at a young age.
“She was a trailblazer way back then when I became aware of her, especially a girl making an all-star baseball team. Obviously, that was an interesting story back then because it didn’t happen very often if at all, and it still doesn’t happen that much even to this day.”
Asay participated in the Women’s National Team Showcase last summer in Trois-Rivières, Québec.
In addition, she was part of national teams that captured five WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup medals and also played a key role in Canada’s silver medal performance at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Swanson, a former organizer of the World Baseball Challenge in Prince George, believes Asay was a one-of-a-kind athlete.
“For a lack of a better comparison, maybe the Wayne Gretzky of women’s baseball in Canada. She was consistent, she was hard-working, she was a leader, she was looked up to and was outstanding in terms of her play.”
“When you think of it, there are not many athletes that have come out of a great sports town like Prince George that have made the impact on their sport the way Amanda Asay has. Honestly, she may be the greatest athlete to come out of her specific sport in the city of Prince George.”
Andre Lachance coached Asay at the national level as well as internationally since 2005 and stated one performance still stands out to this day.
“The World Cup in 2016, the semi-finals where we played against Taiwan and she pitched a masterful game to allow us to play for the gold medal against Japan right after, is one of the best performances I saw of Amanda.”
“I like to say she was really curious and when you have curiosity you really want to know more about your opponent, always trying to find an edge or a different way to win.”
Asay joined Team Canada as a wide-eyed 17-year-old in 2005 and Lachance recounted her first trip with the team.
“We went to Cuba for the first time and we were stuck in a hurricane. I would imagine that would have been viewed as a rough start when you start your athletic career with the national team.”
Asay also played hockey and softball for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island for three seasons (2006-2009) while earning a Bachelor’s in Science.
She continued her studies at UBC where she attained a master’s in science and Ph.D. in forestry while playing two seasons for the Thunderbirds hockey team.
Chicago Cubs prospect and fellow PG baseball product Jared Young has nothing but fond memories when describing Asay.
Young told MyPGNow.com while her on-field resume is second-to-none, it was her willingness to develop the next generation of baseball players that should be remembered most.
“She was always doing it out of the goodness of her heart. I probably worked four or five camps with her and she was there before me and she was thereafter me. It kind of speaks to the way she goes about things and it was really cool to see.”
“That’s what makes this so tough. She did so much to help younger kids and to help everybody. I can’t remember Asay ever saying no to any camp or anything like that.”
“That is what is so truly awful about this.”
In 2019, Asay pitched a complete game for Canada during a women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Mexico.
The revered multi-sport athlete also suited up for the Northern Penguins of the South Coast Women’s Hockey League that same year – lighting the lamp three times in a two-game series against the Ridge Meadow Moose.
“Amanda was a one-of-a-kind teammate, the type of player and person who you loved to compete with every game,” said Ashley Stephenson who played 14 seasons with Asay on the national team and coached her for two. “Under the circumstances, I cannot put into words how tragic this loss is for everyone who knew Amanda. My thoughts at this time and my heart go out to her family.”
