A native Victorian and youngest of five, Mike tragically lost his father in 1976 and the many changes in his life that year resulted in Mike joining a group of friends playing fast pitch softball.

Beginning as an outfielder, he quickly became interested in pitching. His dedication to fitness and his strong work ethic, shaped by his father, quickly propelled him to become one of the topleft-handed pitchers in the game. Mike also credits Ron Hill, his coach for the first six years, as making his remarkable career possible.“Ron was especially valuable to me during the difficult months following my father’s death. He always encouraged me during those tough times. He was a good coach and became a father figure to me.”

Mike honed his skills in Victoria’s Stuffy McGinnis League (which produced many of Canada’s National Team players) before playing top-level fast pitch in New Zealand in 1983-84.In 1984, he returned to join the defending National Champion Victoria Royals, where he was mentored by superstar Rob Guenter who helped prepare him for much of his success to follow.

As a left-hander, he was a huge asset in a game of predominantly right-handers. In 1985, Mike was recruited to play for The Farm of Madison, Wisconsin. With Rocky Vitale catching, he pitched a record four perfect games at the International Softball Congress World Tournament and established himself as one of the game’s elite pitchers. Mike returned to Victoria in 1990 and over the next 18 years played for numerous Canadian and American club teams. He was most proud when playing for Canada’s National Team, which he considered an honour.

Mike says that he was blessed with the best catchers in the game. “Without my catchers - Doug Chase, Tim Wahl, Rocky Vitale, Gary Bachus - I wouldn’t have had such consistency in my game and I willingly and gratefully share my accolades with them.”

Mike has won four Canadian Championship Gold medals and numerous awards including Top Pitcher, Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Player. Some of his major accomplishments included pitching six games in two days to win Gold (1991), winning Gold and pitching with an earned run average of 0.00 (1992) and pitching back-to-back perfect games (1993). He has also won two USA National Championships (1993, 1996) and won top pitcher honors in both. He is the current record holder for most strike-outs (140) in a US National Championship tournament (1988). Other career milestones include a 20-inning 46-strikeout game (1988 USA Nationals) and pitching four perfect games within three weeks (1993).

Mike was a valuable member of Canada’s National team from 1987 to 1999. Highlights include winning two Gold medals at the Pan American Games (1995, 1999) and Silver at the International Softball Federation (ISF) World Championships (1996).

Mike resides in Victoria with his wife, Heather, and sons Lucas and Caleb. He has been inducted into the Softball BC (2006), U.S. Fastball (2009), Softball Canada (2012) and ISF (2014) Halls of Fame.

SPONSORED BY VICTORIA HARBOURCATS

Rob Short was born in 1972 in Maidstone, Kent, England. The family moved to Canada in 1973 and settled in Tsawwassen. Rob’s parents quickly decided that, despite Rob’s desire to play ice hockey, the culture of the sport was not quite what the English were used to and, instead, put Rob into field hockey with the Tsawwassen Falcons. (While field hockey was his main sport, Rob spent more time on street hockey, playing every day in his driveway with his brothers and friends. With two other very athletic brothers, the internal competition was fierce!)

Rob’s family had a huge impact on his life. Not only did they support his dreams financially, but with continued support and guidance he always felt motivated to impress his parents. Rob clearly knew when he had given his all. Now he has his own family, wife Rachel and sons Brek (two years) and Kaeden (2 months).

Rob moved to Victoria in 1991 to do his undergraduate degree at the University of Victoria, drawn by the UVic field hockey program. UVic had field hockey at a very competitive level and had Rob travelling extensively for training and matches.

Rob is the most decorated Canadian field hockey player in history. He was a member of the Men’s National Team from 1992 to 2013. His first Pan American Games was in 1995 and he made his first World Cup appearance in Utrecht, Netherlands in 1998. Upon his return to Canada, he received a phone call, asking if he wanted to play for HGC in The Hague. Rob went for one year, with the intention of returning to University to take up teaching. In the end, he spent 14 years playing professional field hockey. It really was his dream and it allowed him to continue playing for Canada until he was 39 years old.

Rob was Captain of the National Team from 2001 to 2008. In his career, he had 364 international caps, played for Canada at two Olympic Games (2000, 2008), two World Cups (1998, 2010), four Commonwealth Games, and five Pan American Games.

At the Pan American Games, in 1999 and 2007, the team won Gold, and in 1995, 2003 and 2011, they won the Silver medal. At the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Games, Rob was excited to be joined by his younger brother Peter who played forward for the team. In 2011, Rob played in the Euro Hockey League (with the top teams from across Europe challenging for the title) and was named the MVP of the tournament after his team HGC won.

In 2018, Rob returned to Canada as the Canadian National Team Assistant Coach. While in the Netherlands, he earned his Master’s degree in International Coaching, and subsequently founded the Rob Short Coaching Academy in Vancouver. His high performance programnow helps young athletes achieve their goals and dreams in field hockey, just as Rob himself once did.

SPONSORED BY FIELD HOCKEY BC